Strawberry Window SHADE
by dracoz-sexc-hunni
Summary: [“Let me go James! Please, I don’t want to kiss you!” she begged, she’d never seen James look at her like that, he’d always been so sweet to her.]Will Lily finally accept James' friendship again, 3 years after the incident that scarred her?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is a story by Sarah and me, we will write a chapter each and take it whichever direction it goes, I hope you like it! Please read it love jade  
  
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Chapter 1- The people we know! (RANDOM!)  
  
Lily climbed out of the car and pulled her bag out after her, she paid the cab driver and made her way towards the platform she had dreamt about all summer. As she neared the barrier that would let her through, she took one last look at the muggle world and smiled. As much as she loved her parents, she never understood how they could stand being muggles. But she hated her sister, so she was glad to be far getting away from her. She'd spent the summer being and taunted and teased by the older girl who'd said she was 'Abnormal' and 'a freak'. She knew her parents loved her, a witch or not, but she couldn't stand her sister.  
  
She walked through the barrier with pride and made her way slowly through the crowd of young witches and wizards that were saying goodbye to their families.  
  
She smiled kindly and said "hello" as she saw her childhood friend's mother saying goodbye to her son. Lily and James had fallen out when they'd gotten to hogwarts and she sometimes reminisced bout the times when her and James were so very close. She had been so scared to tell him she was a witch and so then in the end she hadn't and then she'd gotten to school and seen him there. She was so shocked, but James had known he was a wizard his whole life. She had been very hurt that he hadn't told her and their friendship spiraled downwards from there.  
  
She jumped onto the train and found herself an empty carriage before delving into a book she'd brought along for the ride. But soon her carriage filled with her school friends and the book lay forgotten beside her.  
  
Her best friend was a girl named Chloe Robinson, who was a shy blonde girl that she'd met on her very first day. They took to each other very quickly and had been best friends since then. Their group was small but close.  
  
While Lily and James were no longer friends, her friends were good friends with his friends, so their groups spent a lot of time together. Lily's good friend Amanda Murray had a crush on Sirius Black, who was James' best friend so she tried to make sure the two groups spent a lot of time together.  
  
So sitting in the small carriage was Lily, Chloe, Amanda, Amanda's twin sister Renee, James, Sirius, and their other friend Remus. And they were all rather squashed, but laughing and having fun all the same.  
  
Lily was keeping quiet and looking around at the people that filled the carriage. James seemed to have change since she last really looked at him properly or had a conversation with him. Now as she watched him from the seat opposite she recognized some of his traits that had made their friendship so special.  
  
He was definitely the loudest person in the carriage; his voice carrying over the voices of all the other people who were talking.  
  
She watched as he used lots of vivid hand gestures, beaming wildly as he spoke about Quidditch and his face then looking somber as they spoke about less happy subjects.  
  
He definitely wore his heart on his sleeve and his face always displayed his emotions. This was very unlike Lily, although, if you looked into the depths of her eyes you could always see what she was feeling. Lily remembered that their contrasts were always something that kept them together. They weren't so alike that life got boring, but they could read each other like an open book.  
  
She smiled as she thought of the way he used to look deep into her eyes when he wanted her to believe he was telling the truth about what he was saying. Imagining his brown eyes locked with hers made her shiver involuntarily.  
  
"Are you okay Lily?" a deep male voice pulled her out of her reverie.  
  
She looked up and straight into the brown eyes of her memory.  
  
"I'm fine." She stammered, "I was just a bit dazed." She said smiling and flicked back her hair as if to recompose herself.  
  
"You're beautiful Lily, I've always thought you were beautiful." He said, taking her hands in his.  
  
Lily blushed and looked around at the rest of the compartment. The rest of her friends were still deep in conversation, and none of them were looking at her and James.  
  
"Th-thank you James" she stuttered, brushing back her hair and looking down at her shoes blushing.  
  
"I mean it Lily, I'm so sorry about what happened between us!" he said, lifting her head to look at him.  
  
She looked into his brown eyes and saw the lust in the way he was looking at her, she remember that lust, he had looked at her that way the last time they had really spoken, at the start of second year.  
  
**FlashBack**  
  
"I love you Lily, but you tease me! Why wont you just kiss me? that's all I ask!" said her best friend, his hand in her hair he pulled her head up to look him in the eyes.  
  
His brown eyes had a predatory gleam to them, and she could see his animalistic lust, she was really scared of her friend now.  
  
"Let me go James! Please, I don't want to kiss you!" she begged, she'd never seen James look at her like that, he'd always been so sweet to her.  
  
"You do!" he growled, pushing her back onto his bed further. She whimpered as he pushed his lips onto hers.  
  
She finally freed her hands and slapped him hard across the face with all her might.  
  
"LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE JAMES! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU WOULD TREAT ME LIKE THIS AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER!! GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed, pushing him off her and running away without a second glance.  
  
**End FlashBack**  
  
**************************************************************************** *** What Lily didn't know was that James had been drinking for the first time that night, and as she ran from the room he realized what he had just done and felt so terrible, he threw up. He tried to speak to her once after it and tried to tell he what had really happened, but she'd just huffed off. So he left her alone for the rest of that year, and then in the year after they had only spoken when they needed to. Never really saying more then 5 words to each other. **************************************************************************** ***  
  
Lily gasped and pulled her hands out of his.  
  
"Leave me alone James!" she hissed, she didn't need to go through the heartbreak that he'd created all over again. She couldn't let herself get close again; she just didn't trust him.  
  
"Lily, I was young and drunk! Please I've changed!" he said, but she stood up and walked out of the carriage.  
  
"LILY!" called the occupants of the carriage and Amanda stood to run after her, but Remus stood up and stopped her.  
  
He'd watched her and James speaking and had seen the fear in her eyes.  
  
"I think she just needs some space" he said calmly and made Amanda sit back down.  
  
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Lily ran through the train and soon found a quiet corner near some young kids' carriages. She sank down onto the floor and cried. She cried like she couldn't remember crying before, harder then she had the day James had tried to force himself on her. Her whole body shook as she sobbed into her hands and soaked her pink top.  
  
She sat for what seemed like hours, crying solidly, curled up the fetal position. Until she heard a masculine voice whisper her name.  
  
She looked up and her tear stained eyes met those of Remus Lupin.  
  
"Remus!" she gasped, wiping her face fruitlessly.  
  
He didn't say anything as he sat down beside her and placed an arm on her shoulder.  
  
"It's okay Lily!" he said as he stroked her back.  
  
She choked on her tears, and let some more flow. She was really worn out and had a thumping headache but she was still crying.  
  
"Come on Lily, it's okay!" he said more forcefully as he handed her a bunch of tissues.  
  
"Thankyou!" she sobbed as she wiped her face and then lay her head on his shoulder, "You're a good friend!"  
  
He stroked her hair and tried to calm her down, soon she was feeling much better and he conjured her a glass of water.  
  
"Here," he said, offering it to her. "Drink this" She smiled and drank it down, then handed the glass back to Remus before trying to stand up. She faltered a little and then soon found her feet.  
  
"Here!" he said, handing her a black bunch of cloth "I brought your robes, go into one of toilets and get dressed and clean your face then come back to the carriage. You'll feel much better." He said, kissing her forehead softly and then turning to walk away.  
  
"Remus!" she called out, and he turned around. "Thank you!" she said smiling, he smiled back at her and then walked off.  
  
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Half an hour later, a fresh faced and smiling Lily walked back into the compartment that held all her friends. They all smiled at her encouragingly and made room for her to sit down. She looked out of window and watched the darkening countryside speed past, soon it was too dark to see anything.  
  
"We should be there soon" Lily vaguely heard someone say and she smiled to herself at the thought of finally being back home at Hogwarts.  
  
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A/n: Do you like it? That was a jade chapter and the next will be a Sarah chapter! Have fun and keep reading Love Jade 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey this is Sarah your Beta-come-author! Woohoo! I have no idea where I'm going with this as of yet, but I'm sure I'll figure something out soon enough! Happy Reading!  
  
My dog sniffs rainforest scented carpet deodoriser. I am not kidding. He reeks of it. Fucking little weirdo.  
  
Fastfact: Every time I go to type 'student' I start to write 'stupid'.  
  
Famous for: Knowing 89% of spells mentioned in Harry Potter books.  
  
Shutting up now...  
  
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For the remainder of the trip Lily stayed curled up in the corner of the compartment pressed against the window reading a stupid teen magazine.  
  
Lily wasn't aware that she had two sets of eyes frequently gazing upon her. James and Remus were both concerned with Lily for the obvious reasons. There were a few uncomfortable moments where the boys' eyes met and they shifted uncomfortably before looking away.  
  
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The students made their way inside the huge oak doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after arriving on the thestral-pulled carriages. The merged groups of students accompanying Lily laughed about nothing in particular as they entered the Great Hall and sat down to wait for the official routine to be completed before they could begin the feast.  
  
Once the students had settled into their seats, they noticed the absence of all teachers except for an impatient looking Professor McGonagall. Hushing quickly, expecting there to be some disaster, they collectively looked up at the Professor.  
  
Giving a disapproving sigh, McGonagall announced: "Your headmaster has decided that he would like to take advantage of the uncustomary atmospheric conditions of this annual time, and hold the sorting and feast as a twilight sustenance consumption outing." The students blinked at her words and remained silent. Professor McGonagall gave a small smile and said: "A picnic, children."  
  
Brightening up at once, the Great Hall filled with happy chatter and some with disapproving muttering. The latter was mostly being issued from the Slytherin table.  
  
"Now if all the students except the first years make their way orderly outside to the lawns near greenhouse 3, Professor Dumbledore and the remaining staff will be waiting for you. There are no seating arrangements other than a particularly large quilt your headmaster so kindly decorated with his latest fascination; Muggle microphones and breakfast moveable feast, Poptarts." Said McGonagall in a slightly amusedly bitter tone.  
  
The school, save the first years, made their way excitedly outside and around to the greenhouses where they saw their teachers gathered, some looking uncomfortable, around a large circular table. A dark haired Professor Flitwick had charmed tiny glowing fairies all around the court and Lily could see some complicated looking devices which appeared to be keeping insects at bay.  
  
There were four large buffet styled tables, coloured red, green, yellow and blue, spaced adequately around the quilt. There were also some neat little snack platters scattered randomly around the quilt to be enjoyed during the sorting and official speeches.  
  
Professor Dumbledore stood up and smiled grandly. "Sonorus" he said quietly to himself, and his voice was magically amplified. "Welcome students, please sit down in any desired position on our wonderfully decorated mackinaw! The sorting will resume shortly then we can begin our well-due feast." He said before cast a look over to Professor McGonagall who had just lead the peaky looking first years into the vicinity.  
  
"Wonderful!" Beamed Dumbledore taking in the appearance of his newest recruits with pride and anticipation. "Begin, Minerva." He said before reversing his self-amplification spell. ("Quietus")  
  
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Once 'Albuquerque, Bean' and 'Thomlinsonfield, Timmeh' had been sorted, all the students were invited to make their way to their respective buffet tables and begin their feast.  
  
After stacking up their plates with delicious cold meats and salads, Lily and her friends made their way over the section of the quilt James' friends had occupied.  
  
Lily had calmed down considerably since her episode on the train. She was talking spiritedly with Renee and occasionally sharing small smiles with Remus who was sitting deeply in thought, munching on a chilli dipped zucchini.  
  
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Authors Notes (again): I REALLY like fairies. I don't know if this was any good...It wasn't sposed to be a picnic. I just got bored with the oh-so-lame entering hall and sorting etc. Jade say picnic – Sarah dip zucchinis in chilli. Quite beautiful really. I think it was too short. But if you think that...dial 1800 – kiss my ass. I'm doing okay for a freakin' beta.  
  
~*~Playlist~*~ Orestes – A Perfect Circle Hello – Evanescence Anywhere – Evanescence Dying in New Brunswick – Thursday Everybody's Fool (Demo) – Evanescence Farther Away – Evanescence Goodnite – Evanescence Mayonnaise – The Smashing Pumpkins No one's there - Korn My Immortal (Origin) – Evanescence Viva Forever – The spice girls (WTF?) Zero – The Smashing Pumpkins 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Did you guys just love Sarah's chapter? I did! Yay! Go Sarah-the-author! Anyway, we don't have much of a direction for this story so just enjoy its randomness and follow it through! It shall result in goodness! Have fun! Lovingly yours, jade xxx  
  
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Chapter 3- A jade chapter!  
  
After a delicious feast under the stars, the students skipped merrily back into the castle and to their respective towers.  
  
Lily sighed happily as she approached the huge portrait of the equally huge lady that guarded the Gryffindor Tower. All holidays she had longed to be back here, back where she belonged.  
  
She followed her friends into the tower and inhaled the deep scent of the common room. It smelt of feet, rose oil and chocolate frogs. It mixed together into a sweet and homely aroma that Lily could always feel at home in.  
  
She pulled out the magazine she'd been reading on the train and plonked onto the nearest couch to finish reading it. She wasn't ready to go to bed yet; she needed to bask in the splendour of her home for just a little bit longer.  
  
***  
  
Remus sat down across the room from Lily, watching her with earnest. She had reacted badly to James' advances on the train and of course he knew it must have been because of what happened in their second year. But Lily was a level-headed, intelligent girl; surely she could see that that incident was almost 3 years ago, and that James had changed since then.  
  
Maybe she hadn't gotten over the issue as well as everyone thought. Remus wondered what deep down issues Lily must be experiencing and made a note in his mind to watch his best female friend intently for any signs of what these might be.  
  
***  
  
James sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands, he was sure she'd have dealt with it by now and they could start being friends again. Although maybe he was just a bit too forward. He decided he wouldn't waste this year, and he would slowly work his way back into her trust so that they could finally have the friendship that they both longed for, deep down inside.  
  
He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, he had to show her how much he really had changed and he needed to do it soon, before they drifted too far apart! He couldn't lose her again. She was still everything to him in his mind; even though she hated him. He couldn't stand another year without her friendship.  
  
***  
  
Lily finally got too tired to keep her mind on her magazine, so she pulled herself out of the chair, chucking the magazine aside and preparing to climb the staircase to her dormitory.  
  
She walked over to the chair that Remus was sitting in. He looked deep in thought but smiled as she came near him.  
  
"Are you turning in Lily?" he asked, his tone was very tired and he had bags under his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I can barely keep my eyes open, unless you need to talk because I'm hear to listen. You look as if you have the world on your shoulders and the universe on your mind!" she said, laying her hand on his shoulder affectionately.  
  
"I'm fine thanks Lily, but I shall remember how willing you are to listen for another time. I'll be turning in soon myself so don't worry about me tiring. You just get to sleep and rest that pretty little head of yours." He said in a very fatherly tone as he ruffled her dark red hair.  
  
"Kay, goodnight Rem" she said, kissing the top of his head lightly.  
  
"Goodnight Lils!" he said, and she walked off. Her mind full of worry for her solemn friend.  
  
***  
  
James slept a restless sleep. His dreams were haunted of Lily's look of horror, fear and disgust that she'd worn both that day on the train and the day in their second year. He woke up every hour in a cold sweat and feeling utterly disgusted with himself. He work up for the umpteenth time at 5:05 and was sick of this restless sleep, he pulled the covers off his barely clad body and sat up. He needed an apple!  
  
He walked along the floor in bare feet and went to the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water and trying to wash the bags away from his eyes. The sad, haunted look in those brown eyes of his reminded him of the months following the incident in his second year, he'd felt so terrible for hurting Lily and he hadn't slept. He didn't want a reoccurrence of that this year.  
  
He pulled his invisibility cloak out of the safe place at the bottom of his trunk and wrapped it round himself, it warmed him instantly and he felt rather safe with it around him.  
  
He walked down the stairs and noticed Remus asleep in the chair he had seen him in earlier. He worried about Remus' sleeping patterns. He needed to get good, sound sleep in the weeks before the full moon, but he had everyone else's problems running through his mind that he didn't take care of himself. James sighed and shook his head and he walked out of the tower. He needed to have a word with his werewolf friend.  
  
Making his way down to the entry to the kitchens, his stomach rumbled happily at the thought of the soon to come apple. Apples were James' all time favorite food and they always made him feel better when he was agitated.  
  
Upon entering the kitchens, he saw the bustle of the house elves preparing breakfast; he stopped a familiar one as she ran past with a tray of sausages.  
  
"Lutie!" he whispered, throwing off his invisibility cloak, "Can you get me an apple? I'm starving!"  
  
The little elf looked mortified at his last comment about being starving and dropped the plate of sausages into the nearest elf's hands.  
  
"Yes Mr. Potter Sir, right away!" and she bowed and then scurried off.  
  
A few minutes later Lutie and two other elves came rushing towards James with three trays between them.  
  
They opened the lids of each of the trays revealed a shiny red apple, a shiny green apple, a shiny pink apple, a bowl of applesauce, an apple Danish, a bowl of apple crumble and a plate of apple pie.  
  
"Is this enough apple for young Sir?" asked the smallest elf.  
  
"Yes, that's great! Is there anywhere here I can sit and eat this?" James asked, smiling at the plates of apple dishes. He loved apple ANYHTHING!  
  
Soon four elves came behind him and set him down on a chair and placed a table right in front of him, placing all the dishes before him.  
  
He thanked the elves profusely and then began to eat away his troubles. As he finished the last drop of his applesauce, he picked up the last 2 apples and stood up. "Thank-you Lutie!" he said, as his elf friend came running over when she saw him stand up.  
  
"It is of no problem sir, Lutie enjoys serving Mr. James Potter sir!" she squeaked. James smiled and walked out of the kitchen with his invisibility cloak firmly around him.  
  
When he got back to his dormitory he placed the two apples by his bed for future hungers and climbed under the covers.  
  
And after his apple feast he fell into a calm, deep sleep where he dreamt about him and Lily as children, and when his alarm went off at 7:30, he was in no way ready to wake up.  
  
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A/n: well, that's my second chapter done! Sarah's will soon follow, and we should all clap Sarah because as well as co-writing this story, she is also beta-ing all my chapters as well as her own! That girl is a one-woman amazement factory and we should all praise her! 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Welcome Children! This is the fourth instalment of Strawberry Window SHADE, authored by me! Sarah. Hopefully this chapter will be longer than my last one, but I make no promises! I'm such a biatch =)  
  
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Remus awoke suddenly at 7am to the quiet chatter of the first students to make their way down to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
He rose from where his neck had been kinked to one side as he slept and almost at once plopped back down upon the armchair he had occupied. His neck was screaming with pain and his heavy eyes burned in the morning sunlight beaming in through the large windows.  
  
Groaning softly he stumbled upstairs to his dormitory to fetch some clean clothes. He caught a glimpse of James and smiled at the peaceful look which adorned his sleeping face. Tiptoeing out to the bathrooms to take a shower, his thoughts travelled to Lily. He surmised that she was what James must be dreaming about and Remus frowned softly.  
  
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A giggling coming from the corner of Lily's dormitory signalled the last of Lily's sleep for that night.  
  
Amanda had been telling her twin sister Renee of the rather embarrassing but not so accidental incident between herself, Sirius Black and the Boy's bathrooms.  
  
Lily smiled and pulled herself out of her warm bed. Gazing at the large clock on the wall, she saw that it was 7:30. Glad that she had slept no later, Lily changed into her school robes before tidying her hair at the large mahogany dressing table situated at the west end of the large bedroom.  
  
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James swaggered down the huge marble staircase located inside the entrance hall on his way to breakfast; no signs of the previous night's disturbed sleep evident on his smugly placid face.  
  
He plonked onto the seat next to Chloe at the Gryffindor table and grabbed himself a piece of hot toast and began to spread it with apple- raspberry jam.  
  
Sirius, who was avoiding Amanda's eye, was telling an animated joke to Lily who chucked along softly.  
  
James caught himself noticing how beautiful Lily looked when she laughed, and mentally shook himself. He would not torment himself this way.  
  
Remus saw where James was looking and gave him a small smile. He knew what he had been thinking and how painful it must have been for him. Remus however could not help feeling a little guilty that he had been thinking the same about the jubilated Lily himself.  
  
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The unusually warm weather followed them into their first day of classes. The large group of Gryffindor fifth years made their way downstairs to the dungeons amidst a sea of lost looking first years where their kind and bubbly professor, Sterling Murphy, was waiting for them.  
  
Gryffindor and Slytherin were teamed up to take potions together, much to the distaste of each house. The rivalries between the cultures ran very deep, and didn't look to be clearing up any time soon.  
  
Claiming four tables in the last and second-last rows, Lily and James's friends sat down and took out their books and quills; talking quietly as their young professor prepared some spequid looking ingredients at the front of the room.  
  
James looked across the room to the front row where a skinny, pale and oily, dark-haired boy sat; eagerly awaiting the start of the lesson.  
  
Sirius had noticed the presence of this imblaqueous looking boy also, and exchanging glances with James, both started laughing loudly.  
  
The sallow skinned boy at the front of the room turned, if possible, even paler and his stomach churned. Severus Snape hated James Potter and Sirius Black with an unquenchable passion. He had been tormented by the boys since his first day at Hogwarts.  
  
Choosing to ignore their laughter aimed at grabbing his attention, Severus opened his booked and stared firmly at the blonde haired teacher clearing his throat attempting to alert the class that the lesson was ready to begin.  
  
Lily had stopped talking to Chloe as she heard the taunting laughter of James and Sirius and knew they must be ridiculing Snape again. Her eyes narrowed and lips tightened as she furiously watched the boys display their infuriating immaturity.  
  
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After potions and transfiguration, the group made their way to the great hall for lunch. Lily's temper having not simmered since potions, grew to breaking point when Sirius and James began impersonating Snape.  
  
"Professor, I believe it is monkroot, not scissor reeds that activate the poison in a cane toad eradicating potion." Said James, adapting an oily, low voice.  
  
"Stupid suck up." Said Sirius bitterly. "It's only because he has no friends that he does so well at potions. He's hoping to come across a new discovery that could cause genocide. That would simply make his day. Evil git."  
  
"You don't even know him!" Exclaimed Lily angrily, standing up. "Just because he's not as good looking, or good at Quidditch you just think he's a nobody. How dare you James Potter-" Fumed Lily, turning on James. "You should know better than to treat people this way. But then again I suppose it's just in your nature. Once a prick, always a prick."  
  
Lily stormed off, Remus rushing after her. James and Sirius sat in silence; Sirius shocked, although slightly amused, but James was in despair. How could he be so stupid again. He knew Lily hated him and Sirius teasing Snape. Why must he continue to sabotage himself? Angrily, James also left the table and made his was outside the large oak doors of the entrance hall and into the grounds.  
  
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Author's Notes: Woohoo, that was longer. I think. I feel it was kinda lame...and there could have been more dialogue. But meh. You need to tell me if you want lotsa dialogue or not! Thankyou and goodnight!  
  
(Please note: "Imblaqueous" and "Spequid" and words of thine own creation. Don't die. Simply use your imagination.) 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Dear god I love Sarah's work! She's amazing ey? Anyway, I'm so glad she was responsible and posted the last two chaps while I was off meeting with parents to discuss my up and coming debutante ball. Isn't life grand and wonderful? Thank-you to our reviewers, I will have to ask Sarah if she plans on replying to them in her chapters, otherwise I probably will! Anyway enjoy this chapter, and keep giving us feedback! Coz we LOVE IT!  
  
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Chapter 5- Jade's hatred for odd numbers!  
  
James stormed out to his favorite thinking place, kicking rocks hard against trees until he was in a clear grassy patch near the edge of the Dark Forrest.  
  
He sat down with his back against a tree and put his head in his hands. Why was he so bloody stupid?  
  
He sighed and ran his hands through his messy hair. This wasn't just something he did when he was trying to impress people; it had become a habit that he did when he was stressed.  
  
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Remus and Lily were in an empty classroom. Lily sat at a desk with her head in her hands, her long red hair cascading over her face. Remus stood back and watched her, sighing occasionally and wondering what to do.  
  
After a while, Lily's back began to shake and loud sobbing noises came out from her vicinity.  
  
"She's crying!" Remus thought to himself, and he rushed over to stand beside her, stroking her back calmly.  
  
"Shh Lily, it's okay. Don't let him get to you." he said soothingly. And she turned her head and looked at him; her usual clear emerald eyes looked troubled and were red rimmed.  
  
"You don't understand, Remus," she said, shaking her head sadly. "It's not what he does, to me or anyone else that upsets me, it's what he's become! I've known James most of my life, and I've loved James most of my life, first as a friend and then it grew into more. But just as I started to realise the feelings I had for him, he scared me like that and I knew I couldn't trust him. But this year, on the train I thought he had changed and I thought I'd give him a chance. But when I looked into his eyes and he was telling me I was beautiful, I saw that same animalistic lust that lay in his eyes that day in second year! And I knew I couldn't face him, not yet!" she started to sob again, but Remus didn't stroke her back he was too angry.  
  
She had just admitted to loving James after the way Remus had cared for her when James upset her all those times, after the way he helped her with everything she still felt for the self-obsessed fuck up that was James Potter! He clenched his fists hard and tried not to let Lily sense his anger. Soon he was calmed, but knew in the back of his mind that his hands were bleeding from the semi-circles that his fingernails had cut into him.  
  
"Lily, look at me." he said, stroking her hair. She turned and looked at him, and he could still see the pain in her big green eyes.  
  
"You are too good for a worthless git like James Potter, and I know you know that! So don't think about him, set your sights on another boy, because we both know James will never change." He said, and he lifted her chin up slightly and stared into her eyes. "You have beautiful eyes Lily." He said.  
  
Lily gasped slightly, she could see jealousy and love in Remus' eyes; she had a gift for reading people and anyone could read the vibes that were coming from Remus! Remus was her best friend; her confidant. There was no way she could feel for him in the way he seemed to feel for her. She had to get away from him, and away from James and all the other horny boys in the school! She had to get away from the madness!  
  
"I-I have to go!" she stammered, and jumped up. "Thank you Remus, but I need to think by myself for a little while." She pushed past him and ran out the door.  
  
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James got up off the ground and dusted the grass off his bum. He needed to go find Lily and talk to her. He'd been remembering fun memories from their childhood that might sway her into forgiving him and he had prayed a thousand times that his plan would work.  
  
That was if Remus hadn't gotten to her already! James had seen the look that the werewolf had been giving HIS Lily, and he didn't like where it was heading.  
  
He'd been walking towards the castle; and now with the thought of Remus and Lily leaving the Great Hall together; he had begun to jog, and then run. He was now running as fast as he could to the castle, with tears streaming down his face when he bumped into something. He fell to the ground onto the something, and looking down into green eyes he realised it wasn't 'something', it was someone. It was Lily!  
  
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Lily ran through the halls, trying to get away from the image of Remus' dark eyes, staring right into her own- just the way James' had. Her eyes were welling with tears which she held back; she didn't want anyone to see her crying. They had to hide until she was alone before they could fall freely.  
  
She ran out of the doors and onto the grounds, she could barely see where she was going, and was just running in the direction that her mind was taking her. She just realised that she was running towards her and James' secret spot from their first year, when she bumped into someone running towards the school.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
James' moved off Lily's small body and let her have some room. She stared at him blankly for a moment and then her eyes rolled back into her head.  
  
James' heart flipped! Lily had just fainted, and he had to get her to safety! He stood up and immediately fell back down. He had a searing pain in his ankle and his eyesight was blurring.  
  
"I have to help Lily!" he said through gritted teeth as he stood up and almost vomited due to the pain in his ankle. He bit down hard on his tongue and bent over to pick up Lily's limp form.  
  
He limped towards the school doors, biting down hard on his tongue and blinking lots to try and keep his eyes in focus.  
  
As he reached the corridor that lead to the hospital wing, his mouth was filling with blood from him biting his tongue and he was seeing double.  
  
He finally reached the door and pushed it open, tumbling through and falling over trying to hold Lily up so that his body would cushion her fall. Madam Pomfrey's white shoes were the last things he saw before he passed out from pain.  
  
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A/n: That was lame!! And so so typical, but lol I wanted to see where Sarah would take this! Anyway, I'll send this over to her now so she can beta it and then write her own Chapter! Ooh, I'm bubbling with excitement! *Kissez Jade* 


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hey guys! I would just like to take this time to conduct some shameless advertising;  
  
www.servatis-a-maleficum.tk  
  
Best site ever.  
  
I think I will reply to reviews at the end of the chapter! I've only had 5 hours of sleep so I think it's best I just get on with the writing for now. Thankyou to all who reviewed! It's you and my and Jade's insane fetishes that keep us writing!  
  
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Chapter 6 – Hey Homie! I see your doodle!  
  
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Lily's eyes fluttered open and she tried to focus on what it was exactly she was seeing. She was very groggy and found herself looking up into high ceiling rafters bathed in soft moonlight coming from the stained glass windows of the majestic looking hospital wing.  
  
Gasping slightly, the events of the afternoon slowly came back to her. Remus...James...The omen.  
  
She looked across to her left and saw the limp form of Remus Lupin sleeping in an armchair as he so often did. Lily looked then to her right and saw a dumb look on the face of James Potter who also appeared to be sleeping.  
  
Soft, warm lamplight was coming from the clear window of Madame Pomfrey's station and Lily saw that she too had nodded off over her tapestry.  
  
Lily decided she would test her legs, so she clumsily sat up her in the white cotton clad bed and fought the strong feeling of nausea overcoming her. Her warm foot finding the cold marble floor, she stepped out of bed and turned to her bedside table.  
  
She reached out to bring the small clock on the table closer to her, but because her focus was groggy and the night dark, she instead knocked her empty fruit bowl to the ground.  
  
"Shit!" she whispered as she heard a soft moan emit from Remus' awakening from. She panicked and looked over to where James lay and was relieved to find him still sleeping.  
  
"Lily?" called Remus drowsily. Lily shuddered at the sound of his voice, and turned slowly towards him.  
  
"How are you feeling?" He asked. Taking her arm in his hand and staring penetratively into her eyes. "You shouldn't be out of bed. James gave you quite a shock..."  
  
"James didn't do anything. He doesn't scare me." Lily said defiantly before sitting back down on the bed and recomposing herself.  
  
"Well something must have scared you for you to react the way you did..." Surmised Lupin. Lily rolled her eyes as she suddenly grew very embarrassed.  
  
"If you must know, I...I saw a rabbit. It was eating a rose." Muttered Lily, who began to blush profusely.  
  
"Um, is that a joke?" Asked Remus. He wondered if Lily had hit her head in the fall...  
  
"No. I read a book about death omens during the summer and one of the very rare ones was to see a rabbit eating a rose. However, there are certain exceptions. For example if the rabbit is eating a yellow rose, that means good luck. But if found eating a read rose, that means your lover will die..." Said Lily quite coherently. She knew how insane she sounded but was determined to remain dignified through the whole shameful experience.  
  
There came a chuckle from the entrance to the ward, and both Lily and Remus jerked their heads around to look at the owner of the familiar laugh.  
  
Sirius black was standing there holding a tray filled with apples, chocolate and (now readily available) poptarts; He had heard Lily describe her ordeal.  
  
"You are batty, you know that Lils?" He said gleefully before shoving the tray onto the bedside table and plopping himself onto the end of Lily's bed, making her jump.  
  
"For your information Sirius, if you had read the full context in which that death omen was explained, you would have had a very similar reaction. Not to mention display your great ability to scream just like a girl." Said Lily with a smirk.  
  
Sirius gave Lily a cold look before ignoring her and turning to Remus.  
  
"Well aren't you just the devoted fan, Moony." Said Sirius slyly. "Been here all night?"  
  
"It doesn't hurt one of us to care about our best friends." Said Remus offhandedly.  
  
"Hey, I brought food didn't I? And there appears to only be one conscious friend. So I really didn't feel needed." Smiled Sirius warmly as he cast an amused glance at his sleeping friend and threw Remus a slab of chocolate.  
  
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Madame Pomfrey was fuming when she woke up the following morning to find Remus Lupin asleep in an armchair and Sirius Black sprawled over the floor in a blanket; his face covered in jam filling and a silly grin plastered on his face.  
  
Torn between punishing the evil and waking the ill, she bustled off in a huff to fetch her pokin' stick. That would be good enough compensation for not being able to scream at the offending characters.  
  
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After a good old poke, Sirius and Remus had been shooed out of the Hospital wing with a detention on Saturday night.  
  
The boys made their way to Gryffindor tower to get ready for their sleepy day to come.  
  
A very irritable Madame Pomfrey had served Lily and James a breakfast of toast and marmalade before telling them they were to spend the day incapacitated, at least while she was observing them.  
  
The night before she had healed James' ankle and issued him with a sleeping potion after he had woken up long enough to teach Madam Pomfrey some words she had not quite wanted to learn.  
  
There was stiff feeling in the air as the two Gryffindors ate their breakfast silently.  
  
Almost keeling over from the awkwardness of the situation, Lily turned her head to the side wishing she was anywhere else. She almost found herself wishing he would say something to break the monotony.  
  
It was almost midday before James finally spoke; "Can you pass me an apple please, Lily?" He asked timidly.  
  
"Sure," She said awkwardly, and passed him a shiny red apple. She knew he loved them when he was depressed. "Sirius came to see us during the night. You were still asleep when Pomfrey brought out her pokin' stick."  
  
"Sorry about yesterday." Said James. Feeling more confident now. "We were both running pretty blindly."  
  
"Yeah." Said Lily, smiling softly. "I felt rather seblanriet even before I saw a death omen." She finished glumly.  
  
"I'm sure it wasn't a death omen. It was pretty dark, it could have been anything." Said James reassuringly.  
  
"It was two in the afternoon, James." Lily informed him. James shuddered involuntarily at the sound of his name coming from her lips.  
  
Recovering quickly, James shrugged and said "It could have been during one of those eclipse things." James squinted at his own stupidity and scratched his head as he wondered whether he had been brain damaged during the attack.  
  
"There was no attack James." He told himself solemnly, making Lily screw up her nose in confusion. James shook his head and said blankly, "I think I'll have a little lie down before breakfast." And he plopped his head back down on his pillow and fell asleep almost instantaneously.  
  
Lily squinted and tried to make sense of what James had been babbling incoherently about. Failing, she sighed and summoned one of her crap magazines from her dorm to read until Madame Pomfrey came around with the lunch trolley.  
  
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Author's Notes: A lot of my paragraphing is stuffing up through the uploading process, it's not my fault! Please don't crucify me slowly. I have good grammar, I swear. Anyhoo rodeo dwellers, review and tell me/Jade what you think and we will praise you! And bask in the splendour of your greatness!  
  
Reply to reviews:  
  
Jess-4-draco-impossible: Thanks baby! I love writing and I'm glad you enjoy stuff! I might write something after this lovely story is old and grey and dead, but I dunno. I need mah Jade for the lovely inspiration and condupulation she spreads! I too love Sirius and plan to marry him one day! So as long as I'm around he shall remain beautiful and great.  
  
SilentGoldenEyes: Thanks for reviewing! I absolutely love writing with someone this way, I would recommend it if you are a writer or want to start! It's great! Jade and I don't even consult each other really...We are psychically connected and we know where we're going anyway! Our speciality is randomness so that's what we do! You should hear our River Nile and Dirty old men stories...  
  
Me: I am thee who loves fairies! Thankyou for the bookness info I will look into it! I think Jade actually told me today that SHE has that book. So hmph! Lol. Thanks for reviewing honey.  
  
Amandinka: Hey! Thanks for reviewing! I bet I am the cynical one! Hehehe. Jade and I are so completely different as people it's amazing we get on so well! We choose to believe it's because we are SO VERY contrasted that we are so good together.  
  
Thankyou so much to everyone else who reviewed! You're all doing a great job keep up the good work! Heh. I would respond to everyone of you but if I become more conceited than I already appear then I would have to explode.  
  
Thank you, come again! 


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note-  
  
My My, isn't Sarah fab? Anywho, I just found another HUGE Harry Potter fan! Lol, I will one day work them out of the woodwork! Lmao, anyway on with the story! I might reply to the reviews that Sarah didn't reply to in her last chapter at the end of my chapter! Bye! Xxx  
  
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Chapter 7- Jade still hates odd numbers! And Sarah shouldn't write when she's watching The Simpsons!  
  
James woke up about an hour after he fell asleep, and he lay in his bed watching Lily. She was flipping idly through some girly magazine and twirling a few strands of her hair around her finger. She looked so peaceful and pretty and James just wished he had a camera there to capture it.  
  
Thinking of photos, he sat up and stretched, alerting Lily to his state of consciousness. She glanced at him for a second and then looked back at her magazine. Satisfied that he wouldn't shock her by being awake, he reached for his wand and summoned a scrapbook from beside his bed.  
  
Lily gasped slightly as the worn out book flew past her head and she put the book down to stare at James.  
  
James smiled to himself as the book flew into his hands, he'd gotten her attention with the book and hopefully she recognised it.  
  
"Is, is that what I think it is?" she half whispered, her voice slightly hoarse from lack of talking.  
  
James looked at her and smiled, patting the bed as if asking her to sit next to him.  
  
Lily looked weary, but slowly stood up nonetheless and hobbled over to his bed. She perched on the edge of the bed as far away from him as possible, and looked over at the book.  
  
James ran his hand down the cover, which was a patchwork of coloured paper with the words 'Friends Forever' in cut out letters. Lily bit her lip to hold back tears as she too reached out and stroked the aged cover.  
  
James opened the book and closed his eyes; he didn't need to look at the page to know what it said: 'Lily Evans and James Potter. May our friendship never cease.' Reading over these words, the tears in Lily's eyes that had threatened to fall before were now well on their way to her chin.  
  
"Do you want me to keep going?" whispered James, breaking the silence.  
  
Lily gulped hard, and nodded. She knew what page was coming next.  
  
**Flash Back**  
  
"Come on James, write something pretty!" laughed a ten-year-old Lily, her red hair in pigtail-plaits.  
  
"Nah, I cant!" said a small boy with messy black hair, his face was grubby and he pushed a large scrapbook back towards his best friend. "You go first, you're a great writer." He said.  
  
"Fine!" she sighed, picking up the pen carefully. She began to write in her best handwriting under the heading in gold that said: 'Promises.'  
  
"I, Lily Marie Evans" she said, as she wrote down the same words. "Do promise to always remember and care for my best friend James Potter, no matter where my life may take me. And I shall forever and always cherish the friendship we have and this book that symbolizes it." She carefully signed her name and handed the book towards James, before writing the same thing in her own scrapbook.  
  
"Now you write something similar." She said, putting both books in front of James.  
  
"Okay," he said, with the pen in his mouth.  
  
"I, James Edward Potter," he wrote, and then paused, looking over what Lily had written. "Do promise to always remember and care for my best friend Lily Marie Evans, no matter where my life may take me. And I shall forever and always cherish the friendship we have and this book that symbolizes It." he signed it and then repeated it in the second book.  
  
Lily picked up her book and looked over what James had written.  
  
"Hey! You copied!" she cried, scandalized.  
  
"Yeah," said James, looking down at his feet and blushing. "I thought it would be best if we wrote the same thing." He said quietly.  
  
"Okay." said Lily smiling and grabbing the box of photos that sat beside her. "lets stick the photos in then!"  
  
**End Flash Back**  
  
Sniffing slightly she ran her hand down the page, along her ten-year-old self's handwriting. It looked so childish but she remembered thinking it was so important and official when she'd done it.  
  
"We thought we'd never see each other remember?" said James, handing a tissue to the angel of his childhood.  
  
"Thanks." She said, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, I'd just gotten my Hogwarts letter and I knew I couldn't tell you, I said my parents were moving me to a girls' boarding school, and you thought that was really funny coz your parents were moving you to a boys' boarding school. I was so scared you'd hate me if you knew I was a Witch, after my sister's reaction I didn't want to tell anyone!" said Lily, her mind back in a more peaceful time.  
  
"Yeah, and I'd always known I was a wizard but never told you. I remember making sure every trace of magic was hidden every time you came over. It was lucky my parents had a lot of Muggle things too, or else you would have thought our house was very strange!" James laughed at his own childish naivete.  
  
"Turn the page James," Lily said, looking away from him.  
  
On the next page and all the pages after that were photos of the two of them in various stages of their childhood, and notes that they had written about those times.  
  
They spent the few next hours looking through the photos in almost silence, laughing to themselves at their childish antics.  
  
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When Madam Pomfrey came around with lunch she saw two teary teens sitting on one bed looking through a very old looking scrapbook.  
  
She split them up and sent Lily back to her own bed before supplying them with a lunch of toasted Cheese and ham sandwiches and large goblets of pumpkin juice, which they both ate heartily.  
  
After tucking them into their beds and telling them to make sure they made the most of their rest as they would join the school again for dinner, she left the room to teach her 7th year Medic Class.  
  
After the Medi-witch left the room, Lily sunk down into her pillows and summoned her own copy of the scrapbook. Flipping through the pages, and listening to the rhythm of James doing the same thing, her mind wandered back to the rabbit.  
  
Had it just been an illusion? Or was James just trying to make her feel better? She had been sure she'd seen a bunny eating a dark red rose, but then she'd blacked out, maybe it was just a hallucination. She tried to keep her mind away from the thing that was worrying her most, but everything she thought of came back to it.  
  
"Is James my true love? Am I going to lose him?"  
  
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A/n: OMG! I am such a corny loser! Please don't hate this chapter, I just really felt the need for some James/Lily bonding! Anyway, I hope you like this and I hope you send some nice yummy reviews because you should see Sarah and me when we get them! Its like scream convention, we get so excited!  
  
Replies to Reviews:  
  
Mizliz3325: I like that you like this! Lol, I think Sarah is heading for a Remus/Lily type thing, but I just am in a Remus hating mood lately and I don't know if that will happen on my watch! I have no control over what Sarah will do with those two characters, and I'll love it no matter what but I wont be doing anything between them, nothing but friendship for me! thanx for your review though! I love feedback  
  
Lady of masbolle: uh, you didn't say much! but I'm glad you like our story! We like you! :D  
  
Elspeth Renee: I'm glad you like it, we will add more! Because there is two of us it is easy to write at least two chapters a night, so expect that most nights coz we're both obsessed and total geeks! Eee! :D  
  
Fan: Different? Good different I hope. It is normal, very normal for Sarah and I hope you won't judge it because it is different, because that would be very prejudice of you! But you're a nice girl and you like it and we like you so you wouldn't do that!  
  
Sakura: JAMES JAMES JAMES JAMES! No Remus! Lol, sorry I don't like him, but I like you coz you are reviewing and being such a nice little fan! So keep it up and we'll continue to do what we are expected to do!  
  
Sitch1: Thank-you, I think Sarah is a great writer and she has the same opinion of me! We sort of contrast each other, so it works and we know where we are going with everything because we think alike. Its good we can work together, but we also do our own thing! Please keep reading and we'll keep updating!  
  
Thank-you to the world of Fanfiction people that read us and stuff, and if you're reading PLEASE review! Love yaz, Jade xxx 


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Sorry if my last chapter was in your opinion too weird. I can only write how I feel =P  
  
Jade's chapter rocked though and balanced it out a lot. So hoorah for Jade!  
  
I've had my apple and I am ready to think.  
  
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Remus had felt on edge all day. Not only was he without Lily to bask in and James to feel superior to; he was worried about what could be happening in the hospital wing while he was not there.  
  
Sirius sat sleepily at Gryffindor table waiting for dinner to be served. He and Remus had arrived early as there were only so many conversation points between the two at the age of 15.  
  
Once dinner appeared on the golden plates, Sirius' unbridled appetite took over and he was lost to all the chatter around him. Remus nibbled feebly on some chicken; frequently glancing over at the entrance to the hall.  
  
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Lily frowned as she stood behind a curtain in the hospital wing changing into her school robes. Rain was rampantly falling over the grounds and was splattering the regal windows. The rain always seemed to dampen her mood.  
  
Sure, she thought it was beautiful, but she couldn't help how it made her feel. Like all would be lost; washed away with the rapidly disappearing summer flowers.  
  
She laughed silently to herself however as she remembered how James would react when it rained. He had always been so curious about everything, and even though he knew the scientific origin of rain; it never ceased to amaze him.  
  
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On the other side of the curtain, James was grinning like a Cheshire cat. He had spent the afternoon with Lily. Going over their old memories. Reminding her that they had a past that she couldn't just ignore. And it was raining. It was all James could do not to run full speed downstairs and into the grounds and scream and laugh and dance and cry. What a wonderful day!  
  
"Dressed yet, Lily?" asked James. Still beaming stupidly.  
  
"Yup." She said as she pulled back the curtain and came face to face with her old friend.  
  
Considering him for a moment, Lily smiled and took his arm before they both walked in a comfortable silence down to dinner.  
  
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James was ready to burst into the great hall and announce to the school just how very overjoyed he was!  
  
"James, stop." Said Lily, her eyes falling.  
  
"What is it Lily?" Asked James who, by the look in Lily's eyes, thought his world was going to come falling down around him.  
  
"Don't look so worried." Said Lily reassuringly. "It's just that...Remus has been really good to me while we weren't..." Lily faltered. "...As close as we once were, and he seems to have become a little confused into thinking he feels something for me..."  
  
James sparked an infuriated look in his eyes as she spoke. How dare Lupin...  
  
"...And I don't want to hurt him, so if we just cool it around him I think it would be easier for all of us. Just for now anyway until I get a chance to talk to him." Said Lily uncertainly. She felt so light-hearted she was willing to accept that Remus' pass at her was simply a misunderstanding and that everything would return to normal between them with time.  
  
James said nothing as he continued to stare fiercely at the wall beyond Lily's left arm. Grunting an answer which could have meant anything, he left her and entered the hall alone.  
  
Taking a deep breath and recomposing herself, Lily stepped through the threshold to the great hall after James and sat down next to Chloe who began asking too many questions for Lily's liking.  
  
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"Are you going to the library tonight James?" Asked Peter Pettigrew, a mousy looking boy who seemed to be in permanent awe of James and Sirius. He was also James' study partner for muggle studies, which none of James' other friends attended.  
  
"I don't know." Said James blankly. "I don't think I'm feeling very well. Maybe tomorrow night." Peter nodded, breathing heavily and left James sitting in front of the fire in Gryffindor tower.  
  
It was about nine o'clock, and James was hungry again. Feeling as though his mood could only be altered by some light hearted fun, he went over to the table at which Sirius was showing Renee how to tell the difference between a frog and a carrot.  
  
"Black," Said James slyly. "Come with me for a moment I have something I wish to discuss with you."  
  
"What is it Potter?" Asked Sirius, feigning annoyance. "Miss Webber here is rather deplorphient and needs my tuition." He cast a shining glance at Renee.  
  
"Just get over here!" James said irritably and dragged Sirius onto the stairs. "What do you say to going out tonight, Padfoot? We've been rather well behaved as of late and my feet are starting to turn yellow. Plus, Bessie's getting a little baunquas." He said, directing his glance to a large blue cow in the centre of the room.  
  
"Honestly, Mr Potter!" Cried a distressed Colin Creevey. "Stop having these hallucinations!" Colin disappeared after those wise words.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Come on then, let's get your cloak and the map." He said, guiding a dreamy looking James up the staircase.  
  
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Author's Notes: Heh I'm so cruel to my darling Jade. Have fun dear! Thanks to all who reviewed, I'm too cold to respond right now but I'm sure Jade will be happy to in her chapter which will be written very soon! Maybe...depends when she decides to show up!  
  
PS: I am SO sorry to all Remus lovers! I myself am a Remus lover and he is so evil in this godforsaken story! I can't help it! Quick, somebody sacrifice me to the Cowgod before I explode. 


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Can you believe Sarah? She practically makes me write about mischief type stuff, and I can't do that! Damn she's evil, but such a great writer!  
  
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Chapter 9- Can we like, kill all the odd numbers?  
  
Lily lay on the worn out couch and massaged her temples. She'd seen the hurt look in James' eyes when she'd told him about Remus and she was sure she wanted James as a friend. So now she needed to find Remus and have a little chat to him.  
  
Sighing she pulled herself out of the chair and looked deep into the roaring fire trying to build up her courage. She took a deep breath and then looked around the common room.  
  
James was trying to get Sirius to do something, and Sirius was very focused on whatever he was doing with Renee. She couldn't see Remus anywhere, she looked around the room again looking for him, but he wasn't there.  
  
Sighing, she sat back down and decided to leave her little talk until tomorrow. She lay back down and closed her eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the busy common room.  
  
But soon she felt someone sitting at her feet, she slowly opened her eyes and was looking straight into Remus' eyes. His hand came up to her hair and stroked it away from her face.  
  
"You looked so peaceful Lily-flower." he cooed, he pushed his face closer to hers.  
  
She reached her hand up to push him away but found it in his crotch. A smile spread across his face, he smelt of tainted butterbeer.  
  
"GET-OFF-ME-NOW-REMUS!" she spat, keeping her teeth gritted.  
  
He laughed at her and stared into her eyes intensely, he looked predatory and hungry, his teeth glinted and Lily swore he looked wolfish.  
  
She had to break away from his stare. She turned her head away and started at the double gold plated clock on the wall. One of the clocks read the time, whilst the other said what lesson it was, or when it was dinner time. She focused on the clock, trying to ignore Remus' breathing on her neck while she summoned up the courage to get him off her.  
  
She screwed up her eyes and turned to look at him, and when she opened them she wore what she hoped was a look of anger.  
  
He had one hand pinned between her legs, and he was holding her other hand above her head so she couldn't push him off. She struggled against his weight and hoped that someone would pull him away. She kept her eyes closed to keep back her tears, and she prayed that he wouldn't hurt her.  
  
"Lily!" he said, but his voice had changed, he now sounded older and his voice had a more suave tone to it. He sounded worried and out of breath.  
  
"Lily, Lily wake up!" he said, but Lily was now sure that this voice was not Remus'. She opened her eyes and the light streaming in almost blinded her.  
  
"Lily, are you okay?" asked a black haired boy that hovered above her. He ran a hand through his already messy hair and smirked at her sexily.  
  
"Lily?" he said, looking at her questioningly. She blinked a couple of times and the room came into focus. There was barely anyone in the common room except for James Potter and Sirius Black, who were looking fairly pleased with themselves. It was darkish, except for the burst of light from the fire. She shook her head trying to make sense of it all.  
  
"Remus!" croaked Lily, still confused as to why James was standing over her.  
  
"No," said James bitterly "I'm James remember?" Jealousy flashed in his brown eyes.  
  
Lily pushed herself up, and looked around, the common room was deserted and the double clock on the wall read 3:00 and 'After Curfew'.  
  
"I know you're James!" she said, rubbing her eyes. "But Remus was here, he was on top of me!" she said, rubbing her temples to make sense of the situation.  
  
James' eyes narrowed and he looked ready to kill, Sirius put his hand on the raven haired boys shoulder to calm him.  
  
"I don't think so Lily," he said, keeping a wary eye on James "Moony is in the Hospital wing tonight, he can't have been here." He looked at James and then looked pointedly out the window at the full moon in the dark sky.  
  
"I think you just had a bad dream Lils," said James, obviously calmed by Sirius' encoded message. "When we came in here you were thrashing around like crazy, that's why I woke you!" he said, sitting down next to Lily and stroking her back lightly, she looked very dazed.  
  
"It seemed so real," she breathed, "I had been looking for him, then I closed my eyes and then I felt someone near me, so I opened them and he was standing over me, leaning right into me and I couldn't move. I was so scared!" she ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "I need to get some sleep," she said standing up "Thank you for waking me though, it was such a scary dream!"  
  
She started to walk towards the staircase when she turned back to the boys who were heading towards their stairs.  
  
"Why, pray-tell, were you two boys out until 3 in the morning?" she asked, looking at the clock, immediately both boys looked very sheepish and she just laughed. "I'm in the mood for some lightening up," she said and shrugged "so if you wont take too long, tell me all about It." she said sitting back down.  
  
James and Sirius looked at each other and then sat down on either of the arms of her chair, and began to tell their story.  
  
"Well, James here was feeling hungry and we were both in the need of some fun," said Sirius, smiling "And I was convinced after James started seeing things that we needed to de-square ourselves, so we set off into the night!"  
  
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A/n: Lmao!!!! Sarah gives me a chapter to write and I completely ignore her prompting and leave all the mischief up to her! mwahahahaha!! I would reply to reviews but fanfiction is being wacky and I can't see that many reviews and shit, so deal with it and Sarah will answer in her next chapter! :D Luv yaz! xxx 


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Hey people! I know my last chapter sucked. But hopefully this one will be better. You never know though...  
  
Thankyou Jade for backfiring my sadistic antics! I will now take care of that mischievous evening. Have fun children!  
  
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"Well, James here was feeling hungry and we were both in the need of some fun," said Sirius, smiling "And I was convinced after James started seeing things that we needed to de-square ourselves, so we set off into the night!"  
  
"Under James's cloak, right?" asked Lily, engrossed. Her large emerald eyes were fixed begordedly upon the boys.  
  
"Right," confirmed Sirius. James was reclined back in an armchair happy to bask in the greatness of his adventure once again. "So we were under the invisibility cloak, sneaking around the corridors for a while just to test ourselves. Filch was near us like 4 separate times, he seems to be everywhere. Him and his damn cat."  
  
"Once we had confirmed our splendidness, we went outside to the whomping willow to..." Sirius stopped as James jerked up and gave him a warning look. "Just to see what it would try to do to us. We've always wanted to go inside..." Sirius faltered. He didn't enjoy lying to Lily, so he quickly moved on.  
  
"Finding nothing overly interesting there, and also remembering that we were hungry, we went back inside and to the kitchens. James enjoyed his usual smorgasbord of apple including delicacies, and I had some poptarts..." Sirius trailed off. Lily laughed at the cuteness of her friends' fetishes. "What? They're really good you know. Dumbledore sure knows his muggle niceties."  
  
"Anyway," Sirius continued, recomposing himself. "Once fully stuffed we decided we wanted to take advantage of this lovely warm night. A nice dip in the lake would definitely qualify, we thought. So off we tottered across the grounds to the edge of the lake which happened to be very muddy because of the rain earlier. Luckily the water was very warm so tralalala we swam!" Sirius told Lily, growing slightly bored with this part of the story.  
  
"It was getting early, and the squid was getting pretty irritated at us annoying it when it should be sleeping, so we decided we'd come back to the castle. Anyway, we walked inside and were making our way upstairs to the astronomy tower to just hang out for a while, when we heard Filch again. We weren't really worried, considering we knew he was around; we saw on the map. We just stayed still, expecting him to sniff around and then move on." Lily held her breath as she waited for what happened next.  
  
"Suddenly we heard Filch let out this wail kind of noise. We thought someone had murdered his cat, but then he jumped up and started laughing and calling out to someone. We looked at each other and just stopped breathing. We had left muddy foot prints all the way up the stairs, without even noticing. Filch was bounding up the stairs towards where we were standing. We were only about 100 metres round about until Gryffindor tower, but we knew we couldn't go there."  
  
Lily forgot the fact that the boys were sitting right in front of her, and stupidly asked "Did you get away?" James laughed and sarcastically said "No Lil, we're not really here. You must be hallucinating." Then shot an reproachful glance over at Bessie who was knitting a canary suit.  
  
Sirius slapped James up the side of the head and continued. "Utterly shitting ourselves, we just stood there dumbly for seconds which really seemed like hours. I suddenly remembered I am a wizard, and grabbed my wand. I used a huge summoning spell and just hoped the door to our potions lab was closed. I summoned all of the specimen bottles and luckily they hit a closed door, making a crash."  
  
"I almost laughed, I thought we were home free. But Filch beat me to it. He started laughing and said something along the lines of 'Oh you silly little brats, you needn't think I'm going to miss the opportunity to get you expelled.' Then James, who had been pretty quiet up until then, used a hair growth charm to make him less recognisable and carefully slid out from underneath the cloak. He made sure he made a huge noise and ran around into the left corridor, away from Gryffindor tower."  
  
"Filch, being the daft prick that he is, ran after James, forgetting that there were in fact two sets of foot prints leading inside the castle. So I cast a scouring charm and cleaned all of the foot prints, and the mud from my shoes. I also had a slightly dangerous brain wave, and decided to try and summon the mud from James' shoes so Filch wouldn't be able to follow his steps. It worked somehow, and I got mud flying at my face. I disposed of that, and then ran to the Room of Requirement where I knew James would have chosen to hide." Lily was barely breathing because of the extent of the trouble James and Sirius could have been in. Sirius continued to talk however.  
  
"So, already long story short, Filch thought James had gone into the Ravenclaw common room, which is in the same direction as the Room of Requirement. He was busy arguing with the guard, trying to get it to let him in. I slipped into the room and found James. We sneaked back downstairs and here we are."  
  
Sirius grinned widely at James who was laughing. "We're so smart." James said smugly, running a hand through his once again short although still messy hair.  
  
"You're incredibly stupid." Said Lily coldly. "How could you even think of going to the lake? And not checking your shoes after you knew there was mud outside. Sometimes I just don't believe your audacity!" Lily was a little distressed by now; she couldn't imagine life at Hogwarts without James and Sirius.  
  
"Lighten up Lily, we're fine." Said James affectionately. "Sirius even brought you some chocolate! Didn't you Sirius?"  
  
"I did!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling out a lump of chocolate which had grown considerably soggy from being in Sirius's wet pocket.  
  
Lily wrinkled her nose and stood up. "It's past four, I'm going to sleep. I suggest you two do the same." She walked away abruptly and up to her dormitory to make the most of the little time she had left to sleep.  
  
Exchanging guiltily amused looks, Sirius and James burst out laughing. "Come on Prongs," Sirius yawned. "Time for bed." And both boys wandered wearily up the staircase to their dormitory. James expected Filch would launch a full investigation of Ravenclaw house before he remembered about the second set of footprints.  
  
After James and Sirius had changed out of their wet clothes, they fell into their beds and went relatively straight to sleep. Sirius spent his last few seconds of conscious thought wondering when his next poptart feast would be.  
  
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Author's note: Hmmm! I don't know if that was any good. You need to tell me! Review! 


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: I want to make this chapter extraordinarily long, but I don't know if I will be able to, because as of this moment I have no idea what I am even going to write! Should I be predictable and instill a ball on the population of Hogwarts, or maybe a Hogsmeade Weekend? Who knows, who cares, as long as I write something right? I will take a moment to bask in the wonderfulness that is my darling Sarah, and I ask that we all bow our head for a minute of silence in honor of her absolute greatness!  
  
–60 Seconds Later—  
  
Enjoy my chapter! (  
  
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Chapter 11- Damn odd numbers! DAMN ODD NUMBERS!! ::Bursts into a fit of frustrated tears::  
  
James rolled over in his bed and smiled. His alarm hadn't gone off yet and he was already feeling refreshed; it was definitely going to be a good day at school. His mind wandered back to Lily and the night before, realising that he'd been up until way past four and that he shouldn't feel this refreshed. He leapt up and looked at his clock. It was 9:30! He was going to be late for classes!  
  
He leapt out of bed and looked around the room. Snores could be heard from Peter's bed and a quiet muffled talking that sounded a lot like "Mary Poppins bakes nice cookies, Mary Poppins bakes nice cookies." being repeated over and over again could be heard from Sirius' bed. James laughed to himself as he looked at the Calendar, it was Saturday, and it was a Hogsmeade Saturday at that. He smiled at his good fortune, before climbing back into his warm bed for a few hours more sleep.  
  
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Lily rose from her bed at 10:00 and glanced at the mirror. Granted it WAS 10 in the morning which was way past her usual rising time, but the dark circles beneath her big green eyes showed that she was deprived of sleep.  
  
Remembering how late it had been when she'd left the common room after her talk with James and Sirius, she found the explanation for the dark circles.  
  
She stumbled into the bathroom and took a long and refreshing shower before dressing in a nice skirt with a very cute top and jacket.  
  
She left the dormitory full of sleeping girls and found the common room fairly full of bustling teenagers, pressuring each other into accompanying one another to Hogsmeade for dates and generally being teenagers.  
  
She smiled at the simplicity of her life, and decided to make the most of her peaceful morning by setting out on a breakfast picnic (A/n: Our story is full of picnics ey? That's like, TWO!) She made her way to the great hall, thinking of the breakfast foods she could bundle up to take outside with her.  
  
As she entered the great hall she found it amusing to see the Gryffindor table practically empty, as most of the Gryffindors liked to stay in bed until late on weekends. She sat down at the table and filled the plate in front of her with croissants and poptarts, (She had actually grown accustomed to the sweet pastries, and had to agree with Sirius on them) and when she was satisfied she took them outside to bask in the morning sunlight.  
  
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James tossed and turned in his bed for half an hour before getting up, he couldn't get back to sleep so he may as well just face the day. He looked around the dormitory again but still none of his friends were up, the sound being emitted from Sirius' bed now sounded something like 'don't tease the monkeys, they will take it out on me! Please!' he sounded desperate and James shook his head at the strange dreams his best friend seemed to have.  
  
He walked off down the stairs and the already busy common room didn't look at all inviting. He glanced out the window and saw the morning sun streaming down on the lake and decided he'd go out for a little dip.  
  
He ran out of the tower and through the halls, dodging first years and prefects as he raced Bessie out onto the grounds. He ran past a girl sitting down on the grass and dived straight into the lake, gliding through the water before coming up and running a wet hand through his even wetter hair.  
  
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Lily gasped as a boy, clad only in boxer shorts ran right past her and dived straight into the lake, sending ripples through the water and making the birds in the trees take flight.  
  
She watched as the silhouette of his body moved through the water, she couldn't quite make out who he was, but he looked as if he had a damn fine body. As the boy popped up out of the water and ran his hand through his wet hair, Lily recognized the body and the face. James Potter was swimming half- naked in front of her while she enjoyed her picnic breakfast. Now she was glad she'd packed those apples and apple-cinnamon Poptarts.  
  
He splashed around for a while, flipping his hair around and looking like an idiot, and she was glad he didn't know she was there.  
  
He began to walk out of the water when he spotted her. The second he saw her red hair his hand went straight to his hair, messing it up in the egotistical way he always did when he saw her. She suppressed a giggle as he walked over to her; his six-pack rippling and shiny with water as he walked.  
  
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James' stomach did a summersault as he saw that the girl he'd ran past was Lily, sitting there innocently eating a picnic breakfast. His hand automatically went to his hair, and he walked as sexily as he could over to where she was sitting.  
  
"Hey, fancy a hug?" he said, holding his arms out and dripping on her blanket.  
  
"Ew! Get away you look like a wet dog!" she laughed, holding her plate of food away from the dripping boy.  
  
James sat down on the edge of her blanket and looked at her smiling, "Up for some company?" he asked, giving her one of his sexiest smirks.  
  
"Sure, why not!" she said, holding the plate out to him "There's apple Poptarts there and apple Danishes." She laughed.  
  
He grabbed one of each and they sat in comfortable silence while they ate. James sat contently watching Lily eat, and she stared down at her feet as she tried not to blush under James' stare.  
  
"Would you like to come into Hogsmeade with me later?" asked James, breaking the silence.  
  
"Sure, I guess." Said Lily smiling. "Before or after lunch?" she wanted to have as long as possible to get ready.  
  
"Um, how about for lunch? I'll meet you in the common room at 12:30 okay?" he said, standing up.  
  
"Sure," said Lily, slightly sad that he was leaving so soon.  
  
"Well, I'd better get back and put some dry clothes on." He said, gesturing at his wet boxer shorts.  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later then!" said Lily smiling, James looked like a hunk in just boxers.  
  
"See ya at 12!" he called walking off towards the castle.  
  
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A/n: Love it? Or no? well whatever you think please review, honestly Sarah and I live off those things! 


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes: Hi people! I am avoiding writing Hogsmeade stuff, so I will tell you about my day. I am kinda nauseous so I couldn't go to piano lessons today; beware my wrath. I had a weirdass dream while I was sleeping through Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone in bed, so I feel the need to incorporate that somewhere into this chapter! Anyway, have fun my darlings and I hope you don't hate it as much as Jade hates my last 2 chaps =(  
  
I have to tape Hi-5 for Kimmie this afternoon, don't forget.  
  
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It was 12:24 and Lily was wringing her hands nervously while she was standing on the far side of the empty fire place. She felt extremely anxious about the idea of spending more time alone with James, but felt it was just something she had to do. She'd probably have a good time anyway.  
  
Lily watched some first years play cards (obviously trying to compensate not being allowed into the village) before James bounded down the stairs with a large grin on his face.  
  
She laughed softly at the delighted look on his face. They left the tower together, Lily silently hoping Remus was still in the hospital wing for whatever reason he made monthly visits there.  
  
They walked out past the huge oak doors of the entrance hall and into the soft, grassy grounds. The sun was shining warmly today, so Lily had abandoned her jacket.  
  
"Shall we go to the Three Broomsticks first and have some lunch?" Asked James politely.  
  
"Yeah, I'm hungry again." Laughed Lily. James laughed and they continued walking towards the edge of the grounds.  
  
During the silence, Lily was thinking about what she had told James about Remus. James had seemed very angry; as Lily had been with Remus. Lily had concluded that she didn't feel the need to save Remus' feelings. She would try and talk to him if he approached her, but otherwise he would just have to deal with it. James had been there for her long before Remus had.  
  
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Sirius turned the light that sat above his computer off. Suddenly, his screen turned black and a fuzzy image graced it. Squinting, Sirius tried to see what it was. He gasped as he realised he was looking at himself from 12 seconds ago.  
  
He continued in shock to stare at the delayed image of himself, and then noticed a red light coming from his speakers.  
  
There were lasers floating around on the material of his speakers, forming moving circles and hearts.  
  
The image on the screen then turned into a montage of strange things. He saw an air vent in roof which slightly revealed a giant pack of cards with the three of hearts facing up.  
  
Sirius ran through his unfamiliar house and into his new mother and non-existent father's room. He screamed at them to come quickly and see the frightening things that had appeared.  
  
His mother laughed, and turned on the fan. His father made himself some toast. Sirius noticed a weird nobby thing on the back of the fan, so being the curious soul he was, decided to fiddle with it.  
  
The room began to flicker and a middle aged man and his minion, Peter Pettigrew, appeared in front of him. Sirius gasped as the man told him of his evil stalking plot and said that it was far from over. No one could control him.  
  
Sirius recognised the man; he was the one that came to fix his computer often when it decided to die. Realising that this man must have bugged his computer somehow, and had photos of Sirius from all over his house, he ran outside into the rain.  
  
Sirius was dancing and laughing like a crazy man, until the evil computer repairman poked his head around the wall and told Sirius that he was expecting him.  
  
Sirius coughed and grew serious again. He waited outside the garage until a female Snape came out and told him to follow her.  
  
Sirius did so, and she led him into a dark bathroom where he waited silently; frantically clicking the back button on the bathroom wall.  
  
He heard someone enter the dark room, and he did a Xena like cry before kicking them in the abdomen.  
  
From the light shining in through the door, Sirius realised he had just attacked a nun. "Oh dear." He thought before the wall which had previously held an invisible back button disappeared to reveal a dark, underground sewerish area.  
  
Peter Pettigrew grabbed Sirius and threw him into a room with some skinny looking kids called Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were playing a giant game of chess and were being very loud. Sirius hid in the shadows waiting for the game to finish. When Harry had sacrificed Ron, an air vent that had suddenly appeared opened, and dropped a giant stack of cards from the roof, attempting to maim them.  
  
Sirius watched as Hermione and Harry ran into the next room, leaving Ron behind before he ran down a weird carpeted hallway that smelt of grandmother.  
  
Sirius unfortunately found himself in the sewer again. He screamed in frustration before Peter Pettigrew grabbed him again and put him in the centre of a giant bread carton.  
  
The mastermind of the whole operation appeared; Michael Jackson, a.k.a, MoldieShorts. He giggled insanely as he killed Peter. Michael chased Sirius round and round the giant bread carton before Sirius passed out.  
  
Sirius woke in a cold sweat and screamed at Peter who was still asleep, "The moral of the story is to keep the lights ON!" before he threw himself out of bed to go have a cold shower.  
  
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Lily and James had taken their time soaking up the atmosphere of the small wizarding village before making their way into the pub where they would have lunch.  
  
Sitting down a table towards the back, Lily and James studied the menu. "I think I'll have the roast pork with apple sauce." Said James happily. "What are you having?"  
  
"Ummm I think I will have...a chicken caeser salad!" Answered Lily.  
  
"Goodo, I'll go over and order. Butterbeer?" Asked James who was getting up.  
  
"Thanks." Replied Lily who busied herself polishing the forks with a napkin.  
  
When the teenagers had almost finished their lunch, a distressed Sirius entered the pub and sat down backwards on a chair at their table.  
  
Lily looked slightly amused yet still concerned at the ledarproad appearance of her friend. James gave Sirius an annoyed look before asking "What do you want?"  
  
"Medicate me." Said Sirius flatly before taking a huge swig of James' butterbeer.  
  
"You are aware that butterbeer is non-alcoholic aren't you Sirius?" Said Lily who was staring at the bustling bar distractedly.  
  
"Don't care. It's still good." He said. "I've just had the worst dream. I don't understand half of it; seemed to involve a lot of muggle stuff. But nonetheless, it was bad."  
  
"What was it about?" Asked Lily, snapping her attention back to her troubled friend.  
  
"I dunno. But I'm just glad we don't have electricity." He said meekly. James wrinkled his nose in confusion, before dismissing it; Sirius always had weirdass dreams.  
  
"Oh well, I'm off to visit Remus." He said abruptly before walking silently out of the pub before disappearing in the crowd of students.  
  
"Our Sirius is a weird one isn't he?" Asked Lily rhetorically. She placed her knife and fork together as she finished her meal.  
  
"Yup. He should get some dreamless sleep potion. They really seem to knock him about." Said James, doing the same as Lily.  
  
"Shall we go then?" Asked James. He wanted to go check out Zonko's...  
  
"Yeah. I'll get the bill." Said Lily, getting up. James' face took on a confuddled expression.  
  
"I can pay for mine..." He said, trying not to be offensive.  
  
Lily smiled softly. "You got the bill the last time we ate out. It's my turn."  
  
James was utterly confradulated that Lily had remembered their last lunch date; it had been over three years ago.  
  
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Author's Notes: Woohoo, that was my longest chapter! Still not very long though I don't think. Oh well. Don't I have twisted dreams? Poor Sirius. Anyway, review!  
  
Oh! And by the way; because of the delay when we upload chapters, they don't show up on the chapter list for hours. We do at least 2 chapters a day, but we can get up to 4 done. So to see if there are anymore, just change the number at the very end of the URL to the next number up! Right where it says "Chapter=11" or whatever. Thankyou! Come again.  
  
+*+PlayList+*+ (I hope the formattishness doesn't explode again)  
  
Lies (Remix) / Evanescence Behind Blue Eyes / Limp Bizkit "Meteora" (wow I wrote for a long time) / Linkin Park My Cat / Jack Off Jill New Shit / Marilyn Manson October / Evanescence Imaginary (EP Version) / Evanescence 


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: I have no idea what to write, after Sarah's weird dreams and stuff, my chapters will look boring! Oh well, I had this totally cool one-shot half written out in my book and stuff, but I left my book at school ( Anyway, I spose I should write some stuff now! AND I DON'T HATE SARAHS CHAPTERS, SHE JUST WANTS YOU TO THINK I'M MEAN AND MAKE YOU ALL HATE ME!!! Just because I called her a hobo! But I loves her, so that's okay! Xxx  
  
P.s. I'm allergic to my favorite pink highlighter! *Pout*  
  
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Chapter 13- Unlucky Number! Ugly icky unlucky ODD number!  
  
James held the door open for Lily as she walked out, putting her purse back into her bag. They linked arms and strolled off down the street, pausing occasionally to look in the windows of stores.  
  
As they reached Zonko's, Lily waited outside while James ducked in to purchase some prank-assistance items. He was sure not to take too long and keep his friend waiting, so after promising to be back with the rest of the gang next month, the owner let him leave the store.  
  
"That was quick." Said Lily looking very surprised when he emerged from the shop with a small bag. "Last time I came here with you we were in there for over an hour!" she laughed, remembering the last time they had been to Hogsmeade together when James' mum had taken them from school for the day.  
  
"Yes, but this time you were waiting outside and I couldn't leave a lovely lady like yourself standing out in this heat for too long now could I?" he laughed, linking his arm in hers again and walking back towards the school.  
  
As they neared the school, James spied a street vender selling flowers, and he stopped and bought Lily a small bunch of colour changing lilies.  
  
"Oh thanks James!" she said, blushing as he produced the flowers from behind his back, "That's awfully sweet of you." she stared at the flowers lovingly and sighed. She really enjoyed James' company even if he could be an arrogant prick at times. She looked over at him and caught him staring at her, when he noticed her looking his hand immediately flew to his hair and he began to mess it up, smirking sexily.  
  
Yep, that was the James she knew and loved.  
  
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That night at dinner, Lily had walked in with James but Chloe had whisked her away to find out all the details of her outing and so the raven-haired boy didn't get to sit with her.  
  
He sat and stared at his jelly (or jello, wherever you live) and poked it with a spoon, smiling broadly. Finally he gave up, and pushed the plate away and skipped merrily back to the Gryffindor tower. He said the password and walked through, and what he saw there was an absolute shock.  
  
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A/n: that wasn't just gay, that was MEGA gay...but oh well, Sarah can do wat she wished with it, coz I'm in the weirdest mood and cannot write =( 


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Notes: I officially apologise for implying that Jade Van Buuren is a bitch. Miss Van Buuren is not, and has never been a bitch to myself or to any other living thing. I also do declare that yes, I am a hobo. Miss Van Buuren simply stated correctly my retardedismesquity. Thankyou, and goodnight.  
  
I wish also to express my condolences that Jade is unable to continue a puentant love affair with her favourite pink highlighter which she has just discovered an allergic reaction to.  
  
PS: Guys I am so sorry! I am a loser who has not been able to write lately. Life seems to insist on getting in the way. That and my laziness.  
  
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He sat and stared at his jelly (or jello, wherever you live) and poked it with a spoon, smiling broadly. Finally he gave up, and pushed the plate away and skipped merrily back to the Gryffindor tower. He said the password and walked through, and what he saw there was an absolute shock.  
  
Lily was sprawled on the floor below a hologram of a woman who looked to be around 40 years old, although she'd had a lot of plastic surgery so she could have been 98.  
  
The woman had a slow, squarish voice that cut through the air at Lily, commanding her to do weird looking things.  
  
Lily had a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and was throwing her legs in the air unsystematically on the woman's prompt. She was busy stretching and bending around like a loony, so she didn't notice James doubled over with silent laughter.  
  
There was a loud bang as James fell to his knees and rolled sideways onto his back, and Lily jumped up immediately. She blushed furiously and vanished the since impatient looking hologram.  
  
Lily stomped over to James' still limp form and kicked him gently in the ribs. "Ow!" He spat through his booming laughter. He rolled onto his back and crawled over to the couch to make himself more comfortable in his fit of mirth.  
  
"What are you doing sneaking up on me like that James?" Asked Lily, her angry voice echoing off the walls. She was still blushing like mad.  
  
"Ah, Lily! That was classic! Now let me explain something to you..." He said, starting to calm down slightly. "Generally, common rooms tend to be rather common. You know, people coming in and out constantly; a rather noticeable lack of privacy; that kinda thing. So if you decide to do...whatever THAT was in here, you should expect someone will catch you. I think you should be thanking me actually."  
  
"What?! Thanking you? What on earth for?" Screeched Lily. "And for your information, everyone was at dinner and I was to be finished any second."  
  
"Yeah right. You looked pretty caught up in...that." James said, grinning. "You should thank me for being me. How would you feel if some seventh year came in and caught you? I bet you'd feel tonnes worse. It's a great day to know me!"  
  
"You are insufferable James. You really are." Said Lily exasperatedly. She flicked a piece of loose sweaty hair from her face and sighed.  
  
"Oh you know you love me. Anyway, what were you doing?" asked James, smirking at the look in Lily's eyes.  
  
"It's a muggle thing called Pilates. Just stretching and stuff...but that class was particularly vigorous." Huffed Lily. She took a sideways look at James who was still smirking. "Shut up. I don't want to hear it."  
  
James feigned shock. "I wasn't going to say a word. It actually looks rather energising. Maybe you could teach me one day." Said James hopefully.  
  
"Yeah you wish." Said Lily, smiling. "Well I'm going to get changed. I'll talk to you later." She then got up and left James, who was still laughing at the reaction of his friend.  
  
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James arrived at the breakfast table the following morning to an utterly devastated Sirius. He was sitting next to Amanda who was clearly trying to console him.  
  
"It's just not fair! How dare he introduce something to totally wonderful into our lives only to rip it away, never to be seen again in the next second! Oh, it had only begun! And now...never again."  
  
"Oh honey, you will be okay in time. I know it's hard, and it will be hard for a long time yet, but you need to keep yourself on track. You can't starve. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Amanda bit her lip. She too was feeling the loss of a much loved breakfast pastry.  
  
"What's going on?" Ask James who was stuck between concern and amusement. Hiding this conflict however, James looked on attentively to his best friend's torment.  
  
"He's a slut that's what he is. That whorish tease of a headmaster. How could he do this to me James? He has found himself a new fascination; Froot Loops. Froot Loops!?! What kind of a name is that!? The old man has absolutely no consideration for those with addictions. It's a lovers world out there, Prongs! A lovers world!" Sirius said; wide eyed and looking on the verge of a breakdown.  
  
"Sirius, pull yourself together. There are many other forms of solid sustenance in the sea, and you will find the right one soon enough. But for now, you need something to block out the numb feeling we all have, Sirius, we all have. I suggest a rebound fling with these 'Froot Loop' fluzeys. You can learn to love again!" Cried Amanda, standing up with the intensity of the moment.  
  
James sat, staring bemusedly at the completely insane scene unfolding before him. Wasn't he the one who had such delusions?  
  
"Never again Amanda. I will never eat again." Said Sirius sternly. "I'm going to get ready for class." And with that he got up from the table and scurried off to recollect himself.  
  
Sirius ignored Lily who greeted him on his way out as she was coming in. She wrinkled her nose in confusion but continued on to the table. "What's up with him?" She asked James.  
  
James shook his head and said "Don't ask." He looked over pityingly at Amanda, who was weeping softly into her napkin. This was going to be a long day.  
  
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Es Mio - Bessie is just some weird blue cow that keeps jumping in front of the camera when Jade and I write our chapters. Well so James tells us anyway; no one else can see her. We think James' brain was damaged when he and Lily had that little run in earlier.  
  
marissa - deplorphient is one of my words. I get bored so i spin in some weird words that just pop into my head. In that instance, deplorphient means stupid.  
  
JAVEY - Hey, I discussed this on some board somewhere ages ago, but I really dont remember any of the ideas presented. Lily could have been in Slytherin I guess, but I don't know, so her being in gryffindor certainly makes things a lot easier for jade and I! Hehe thank you for reviewing.  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are the APPLES of my and Jade's eyes. Have a great day all of you! 


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: Dear god, what do I write in response to that chapter? Not that I'm not sooo glad Sarah did that whole Sirius thing, because I love crazy-Sirius food scenes!! Anyway, now I have to somehow twist that madness into my own chapter! ::Sigh:: Sometimes I worry about my stress intake!  
  
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Chapter 15- hmm, I don't mind the number 15 actually, it's kind of smooth! Like a cross-dressing odd number (it looks like an even number but is technically an odd number)  
  
James poured himself a bowl of the strange techni-coloured cereal and poked at it with his spoon, Sirius was right this stuff wasn't up to the standard of the deliciousness that was Poptarts.  
  
"What is with everyone the morning?" Lily finally asked, looking at her group of very down looking friends. Remus looked like he hadn't slept in days and his robes were looking slightly ripped; Chloe was consoling Amanda who was trying to stop the tears that still threatened to fall from her eyes. And Renee was humming a strange song to herself with her eyes closed as she ate a peach.  
  
"He was so hooked, and then it was taken away!" sobbed Amanda "Did you see the hurt in his eyes? The poor boy!" she buried her head in Chloe's shoulder and sobbed. Chloe looked slightly awkward but stroked the girl and made soothing noises.  
  
"Um yeah, there was a slight disaster with Sirius' breakfast this morning and I think it hit everyone pretty hard?" said James, looking somber but also trying to hold back his laughter at Lily's incredulous expression.  
  
"So our entire clique's world had crumbled because Sirius is craving a breakfast food?" she asked, looking at James doubtfully.  
  
"Yeah," he sighed, looking down at his bowl.  
  
"You're all nuts! You're all bloody nuts!" she said, getting up and taking the last apple from the fruit bowl and walking out.  
  
James poked his tongue out at her retreating back and looked around the table for something better to eat. After the ordeal of that morning he was definitely in need of an apple. He put his hand into the fruit bowl and gasped, Lily had taken the LAST apple. He jumped up and ran down to the other end of the table where there was another fruit bowl. Pushing 2 first years out of the way he leapt towards it looking for a morsel of the sweet apple variety.  
  
"Sorry James, there's no apples left up this end." Said a first year that knew him well, she giggled at the normally good-humored boy and he scowled at her, causing her to gasp.  
  
He ran to the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses and all their apple were gone too, he was about to make his way out the door looking very crestfallen when he spotted a red juicy apple at the Slytherin table.  
  
He looked around at the students who were there; the apple was right near where Snape was seated. He gritted his teeth and ran towards the table, he took a leap and dove over the table, using his seeker reflexes to grab the apple just before a slimy looking first year put her slimy hands on it. He tucked and rolled onto the floor over the other side of the table before standing up and dusting himself off. He walked out of the hall with his head held high, munching delightedly on a shiny red apple.  
  
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The Gryffindors first class for the morning was Transfiguration, and James walked in, finishing the last of his apple just in time. He slid into a seat between Lily and a very depressed looking Sirius just before Professor Morphuleda strolled in and called them to attention.  
  
"Good Morning Professor Morphuleda." Said the class in a very bored, yet sing-songy voice.  
  
"Morning class, you may be seated." She said, turning to the blackboard and tapping her wand on it lightly. The instructions for their task for that day appeared and she stood before them explaining it in full detail.  
  
"Sirius, cheer up mate," said James as he attempted to Transfigure his light bulb into a lantern.  
  
"Cheer up? CHEER UP? I cant just 'cheer up' I can't believe our so-called 'Esteemed Headmaster' could do this to us, to me! He's doing this to keep us conforming; he gives us things, gets us hooked and takes them away! Its just plain mean James!" he cried, causing him to receive a stern look from Professor Morphuleda.  
  
"Maybe if we went to Professor Dumbledore and asked him to get in some more poptarts because you're craving them, then he would?" said Lily optimistically.  
  
Sirius' eyes lit up at this idea, "Lily you're brilliant! That is exactly what I can do! Professor Dumbledore is a great, kind honest man he's sure to help me!" he cried, jumping up and running for the door.  
  
"MR. BLACK, sit down this instant! You will not just walk out of my classroom anytime you like!" roared professor Morphuleda.  
  
Sirius, realising he was still in class grinned sheepishly and sat down.  
  
"Great? Kind? Honest? This is the man you've been cursing for the entire morning padfoot!" laughed James.  
  
"Shut-up James!" said Sirius, smacking him playfully.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
As soon as class was finished, Sirius ran off in the direction of the headmaster's office.  
  
As he reached it he saw the headmaster walking up towards it, eating a bowl of Froot Loops. Sirius was enraged, but he controlled himself and called out to the headmaster.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore! Can I please have a word with you?" he called out, hoping he sounded polite.  
  
Dumbledore didn't turn around and look at him, but he nodded his head slowly.  
  
"I was wondering when you'd come and confront me Mr. Black," he said, as the staircase recognized him and opened. "Come up to my office." He said, finally facing the boy with a smile, and beckoned him forward.  
  
Sirius ran up the stairs and followed Dumbledore into his office and sat down on the opposite side of his large desk.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore sir, I presume you know why I am here," said Sirius in his most grown up voice.  
  
"Of course Mr. Black, but don't allow that to stop you from telling me all about it," said the old man with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"Well this morning I couldn't help but notice that there were no poptarts on the table at breakfast, and instead there was these odd techni-colour 'loops'" Said Sirius with a look of distaste.  
  
"Yes, they are really quite delightful and I thought the students would enjoy them, are you telling me that this is not the case?" asked Professor Dumbledore, his face looking very serious but his eyes showed his hidden laughter.  
  
Sirius tired to stop his body from shaking, it had been almost 18 hours since his last poptart and he was not taking it too well.  
  
"I'm sure they are great!" Sirius almost sneered. "But I don't understand why you had to take away the poptarts?" he asked, starting to break.  
  
"Well Mr. Black, I feared that there were students in the school developing a slight addiction to poptarts, as I was myself. And I thought it would be best if we took them away before the problem got out of hand. I think if you just tried to Froot Loops then you would see they aren't that bad." Said Dumbledore calmly, preparing himself for the outburst he would surely receive.  
  
"I DON'T WANT TO TRY YOUR DAMN FROOT LOOPS YOU FOOL!" he yelled, before realising who he was speaking to. "Oh, sir I'm so sorry, I was out of line!" he mumbled, not wanting to look at his headmaster. But to his surprise he heard the older man chuckle, and when he looked up he saw a very amused headmaster looking at him.  
  
"I see that you are just as hooked on poptarts as I am Sirius, therefore I sympathize with you. There will be poptarts back on the table at breakfast tomorrow morning. But I must warn you not to eat them too often or you will be craving for the rest of your life." Said the headmaster gravely. "Is that all you needed?" he asked.  
  
Sirius beamed, "Yes thank-you sir!" he said standing up.  
  
"Well then I advise you hurry to class, you will be very late as it is. Here is a note for your teacher, good day Mr. Black." Said the headmaster, leading Sirius to the door.  
  
"Yes, thank you again Professor Dumbledore I am very grateful." He said before bounding out the door and running to his next class.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
After a long day of classes and a particularly grueling Quiditch practice, James dragged himself back to the Gryffindor tower and tried to get himself into a homework mindset.  
  
"Hey James, how was practice?" asked Lily as he came through the portrait hole. She was bent over a large piece of parchment and was busy scribbling away.  
  
"Hard!" mumbled James as he fell down into the nearest chair, closing his eyes and running his hand through his windswept hair.  
  
"You look dead on your feet James, why don't you go up to bed?" said Lily, looking up from her work and massaging her temples.  
  
"Nah, I got that potions essay due tomorrow to finish." Sighed James, pulling a table closer to him and summoning his books.  
  
"Trust you to leave it until the last minute James!" Lily scoffed, smiling at her friend.  
  
"I'm not that bad Lils, I just have to finish off my conclusion and then I'm done. It won't take too long and then I'm going hit the sack!" he said laughing and bending down to finish his work.  
  
Lily sighed as she watched her childhood friend furrow his brow and scribble down a conclusion at the end of his essay. She looked back down at her won work and continued working.  
  
They worked in a comfortable silence for quite a while, until James broke that silence by throwing his quill down a little more forcefully then required.  
  
"There! It's finished, and it's the right length!" he cried, running his hand through his black hair, Lily laughed and flicked her own hair back of her shoulder.  
  
"Well I'm nearly done here, you don't need to wait up. Goodnight James," she said quietly, realizing that they were the only people left in the Gryffindor common room, therefore it must be late.  
  
"Alright Lils, don't stay up too late, it's already way past bedtime and you don't want to be tired for class tomorrow." Said James, he got up and kissed Lily lightly on her forehead in a strictly platonic gesture. "Night Lils," he said quietly as he made his way towards the steps.  
  
He walked upstairs and into his room, he could hear Peter snoring lightly from his bed and the faint sound of Sirius babbling something in his sleep.  
  
He slipped out of his clothes and climbed into bed in just his boxers, and tried to fall asleep the image of Lily, illuminated by the fire fresh in his mind.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Lily lay back in her chair and touched the spot on her forehead where James had kissed her, she felt slightly tingly and giddy and when she thought of James sitting there a smile crept to her tired face.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
James tossed and turned in his bed, trying to get to sleep for around 2 hours. Finally he gave up and was starting to get frustrated so he climbed out of bed and look around. He clock read 12:30am and he could hear the soft sounds of his friends sleeping around him. He decided that he needed to go for a walk and clear his head before he would try and sleep again so he pulled on some loose pants and walked down to the dark common room.  
  
When he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw a familiar redhead sitting with her head at an odd angle and her quill still on her hand on the couch she'd been on when he'd left the common room hours ago.  
  
"Oh Lily," he sighed in an almost motherly tone as he walked over to the couch. He picked her light frame up and then gathered her paper together on the edge of the table where she could find it in the morning. The piece of paper on the top of the pile caught his eye, and he put Lily back down on the couch so he could get a good look at it. he took the paper over to the dying fire for light, and looked at it. He gasped, written on the parchment in dark black ink were the words: 'I love James Potter'  
  
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A/n: hehehe!! We needed them to get properly together now didn't we? I hope that chapter was good, it was fairly long for me over 2,000 words! WHOOPEE! Now I need to get on the Internet without my parents noticing so I can send it to Sarah to beta and hopefully she can upload it for me too! Please review even though fanfiction has gone biserk and wont send them or anything else to me! ::Cries:: oh well, I hope you liked it! love jadel!! 


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: OMG! Don't you just love Jade? I love Jade. That chapter rocked! I love James Potter! Whoooo! I feel the need for some Pumpkins in this chapter. I'm writing in 'Plum' this chapter! It's great, I feel so illuminated. Not that you can see it, just know that plum infused these words.  
  
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James was sitting at breakfast the next morning in a state of bliss. He could not believe what he had seen last night. He suspected he'd been dreaming, though the bruises on his arm from where he had pinched himself proved otherwise.  
  
It was a quarter to eight, and Lily still had not arrived at breakfast. James suspected she was running late due to her lack of sleep the night before. He had been forced to leave her there because if he'd moved her she would have known that he'd seen what was written on that wonderful piece of paper.  
  
James was sitting trying to think of a way to respond to Lily's feelings. There was no doubt in his mind that he felt the same way, and he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass him by. Interrupting his thoughts however, was a bedangled looking Lily rushing over to the table, a large selection of books clutched under one arm.  
  
"I'm late! How did I fall asleep in the common room?" She demanded desperately, her bloodshot eyes opened wide. "I haven't had time to look at the timetable so I've got every book I own with me until break." She grabbed an elegant ladle from a gleaming silver serving plate and piled some Froot Loops into a bowl then splashed some milk over them before chowing down at breakneck speed.  
  
Sirius gave her a dirty look and muttered what could have been the word 'traitor' under his breath as he protectively stroked his choc-marshmallow flavoured poptart. Chloe looked over at Lily pityingly and said "Lily you're not running that late. You're just in a twiz! Just calm down and relax. There's five minutes before we toddle off to Ancient Runes!" Lily groaned at hearing her first subject for the day and poured herself a cup of green coffee.  
  
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It was by lunch time that James had decided on his plan of action. He would write a song! That was sure to let Lily know how he felt about her. He entered the great hall before a very large crowd had gathered there, grabbed himself a ham sandwich and a small bottle of sparkling apple juice before making his way to the special place down by the edge of the forest.  
  
Sitting on a large rock, his Muggle Studies book opened to the back and a light brown feather quill in his hand, James racked his brain for the right words.  
  
He wanted it to be light hearted, so he wouldn't scare off Lily; But at the same time very meaningful.  
  
After half an hour of writing soppy, forgettable lines, James gave up. He wasn't going to try and do something that didn't feel totally natural, so he looked into his yellow-coloured soul and tried to find the right approach.  
  
He decided he would tell a story through song! A parallel story that reflected his feelings for Lily...Then James realised he was sleep deprived so he should stop thinking about it and just start writing.  
  
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It was the last lesson of the day, and soft snores could be heard coming from the front corner desk of Lily Evans during a long speech about an evil wizard from the 1200's named Lord Calcula.  
  
A solid Professor Binns remained oblivious to the sound however, as his own droning voice seemed to totally consume his attention.  
  
James Potter was grinning to himself as he read over the words he had written during his lunchbreak. His main goal, he decided, was to make Lily smile. He couldn't wait until tonight...  
  
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That afternoon in the common room, Lily was incessantly hampered by James' humming of an unfamiliar song. She would give him exasperated looks when he reached unbearable volumes, but he would just grin. So, trying but failing to complete an essay about the perils of Lord Calcula, Lily let her head rest on the table. Her heavy eyes closed as the vibrations of James' humming slowly lulled her to sleep...  
  
Lily woke suddenly at 8pm, and looked around the deserted common room. She surmised that everyone must be at dinner, so she made her way upstairs to freshen up before heading downstairs for some food herself.  
  
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Amanda was talking to Renee in lowered tones when Lily arrived, and Chloe was staring at her hands with a chicken drumstick dangling from her mouth. Lily greeted them all but gained only hurried responses from Amanda and Renee, who continued talking immediately, and no words from Chloe who was now trying to investigate her own tongue.  
  
Lily picked at some steamed vegetables and salmon, while thinking about where James and Sirius might be. Remus had been keeping a fair distance from the group lately, and that was fine with Lily. She needed some space to get used to her regenerated relationship with James.  
  
Feeling as though she'd had enough to eat, and knowing that no riveting conversation was about to start anytime soon, Lily began to plod upstairs to the common room to take a shower and get ready for bed.  
  
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+ Earlier...  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Said Sirius snootily. He crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air as James continued to beg.  
  
"Come on Sirius, I know about your banjo. And it's okay! I understand the amazing power of music, and I need your help to incorporate that into my love life. There's nothing to be ashamed of about owning a banjo! It is a very dignified instrument and should be treated with just the same respect as a guitar!" James pleaded. He had to get Sirius onside for tonight.  
  
Sirius sighed. "I know what you really think of my banjo. And it's true. I am a disgrace to the wizarding world! But I just cannot deny the wonderful force that comes over me when I play my banjo. It is utterly exhilarating!"  
  
Hearing the word 'utter' and mistaking it for 'udder', Bessie perked up her ears and nudged at Sirius' knee with her dripping blue nose. "Not now Bessie, I will milk you tomorrow!" exclaimed James exasperatedly. Sirius gave James a scrupulent look, before letting him continue.  
  
"Wouldn't you just be honoured to bestow that great power on me? Don't you want I, your best friend, to experience the wonderful fantabulousness that is the banjo?" Sirius gave James one last considering look, and finally approved.  
  
"I will also need you to stand below the tree and catch me if I fall..." added James hastily.  
  
"Anything for you, my banjo brother." Said Sirius, tears welling in his eyes.  
  
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Lily yawned as she glided over to the window of her shared dormitory and closed the crimson velvet curtains. She was glad to have the opportunity to sleep before her giggly bedchamber mates invaded the tranquil space.  
  
She climbed into bed and picked up her diary, checking what she had to do tomorrow.  
  
"Now!" whispered James as he nimbly climbed off his broomstick and onto a large bough of the oak tree that dwelled next to the 5th year girls dormitory.  
  
At James' signal, Sirius' wand joined James' in the Lumos spell. James' wand shined in through Lily's window, and Sirius' worked as a spotlight on James.  
  
Clutching Sirius' lime green banjo, James played and hummed a few notes hoping to get Lily's attention.  
  
Lily jumped as she heard the noise, and placed her leather-bound diary in her bedside drawer before walking cautiously over to her window and drawing the curtains.  
  
She gasped when she saw James sitting up in the oak tree with a ridiculously lime green mini banjo. He grinned when he saw her expression and began to play:  
  
"Lily, my one and only  
  
I can hardly wait till I see her  
  
Silly, I know I'm silly  
  
Cause I'm hanging in this tree  
  
In the hopes that she might catch a glimpse of me  
  
And through her window shade  
  
I watch her shadow move  
  
I wonder if she...  
  
Lily, my one and only  
  
Love is in my heart, and in your eyes  
  
Will she or wont she want him  
  
No one knows for sure  
  
But an officer is knocking at my door  
  
And through her window shade  
  
I watch her shadow move  
  
I wonder if she could only see me  
  
And when I'm with her I feel fine  
  
If I could kiss her I wouldn't mind the time it took to find  
  
My Lily, my one and only  
  
I can hardly wait til I see her  
  
Oh Lily, I know you love me  
  
Cause as they're dragging me away  
  
I swear I saw her raise her hand and wave  
  
Goodbye"  
  
Lily said nothing. She was so totally stunned to see James singing to her with a banjo up a tree, that she began to hysterically laugh.  
  
James, totally stunned, threw the banjo and his wand down to Sirius who was brandishing a mattress; manoeuvring quickly to catch his precious banjo.  
  
James jumped on his broom and flew over to Lily's window and sat on the sill, waiting for her to regain herself.  
  
"Oh James! You are absolutely insane! That was the sweetest thing! Did you write that? Whose banjo is that? Why were you in the tree? Oh God, that couldn't have been safe! Are you okay?"  
  
James walked over to her and laughed as he affectionately stroked the now very serious Lily on the upper arm. Her expression softening at his touch, she closed her eyes slightly as their lips met under the shadows of the large tree and the cool autumn breeze flowing in the window. All sounds were drowned out in that perfect moment, including that of Sirius moaning along to the twang of his banjo on the ground below them.  
  
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Author's Note: Ah! It seems almost rude to talk after that lovely moment. I'd like to thank my darling Billy for his lovely and aptly titled song featured in this chapter! And also Jade for being so fabulous and all you readers for being so patient with me and my writer's block! I love you all! I have been writing this chapter for over 2 hours, and it's now 4:11am. I am very happy to be done.  
  
I would also like to note that I feel very unsafe, writing such an important chapter. I honestly don't know if it's good or not, so you should tell me by hitting that lavender/periwinkle/violet/mauve/lilac/blue/purple review button down there. Thankyou! 


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: Oh god! Don't we all just L-O-V-E Sarah for that chapter? Wow! Intense and cute and oooooooh! Eeeee! I'm so exciterated! Anyway, I so don't feel like writing right now, but Sarah kind of insists that that is the best time to write, so I will attempt to write a chapter that doesn't massacre that beautifulness that Sarah wrote. Enjoy! Love Jade xxx  
  
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Chapter 17- Oh the evilness of odd numbers!  
  
Lily skipped into the Great hall for breakfast feeling on top of the world. She hummed the sweet tune that James has sung to her the night before and twirled a pigtail around her finger.  
  
"Hey girls!" She said as she slipped into a seat between Renee and Chloe.  
  
"Hey Lily! You look so, so...what's the word, Chloe?" said Renee, scrunching up her nose in concentration.  
  
"What word, Renee?" she asked, looking very tired.  
  
"You know, that shiny word!" she said, twisting a stray piece of hair around her finger.  
  
"Radiant?" Said Chloe, looking very bored.  
  
"Sure! That'll do! You look so radiant this morning Lily, are you using a new face-wash?" she asked, picking up a grape and popping it into her mouth.  
  
"Uh, no Renee. I'm just really happy I guess!" said Lily, picking up an apple and munching on it, staring into space and grinning like crazy.  
  
"Morning, Lily!" came a suave male voice from behind her. She felt a strong hand on the small of her back and she shuddered at the warm touch.  
  
She spun around and looking into the eyes of James. "Morning, James!" she said, shuffling over to make room for him between herself and Renee.  
  
"How did you sleep?" he asked, grinning at her like a Cheshire cat.  
  
"Wonderfully!" she said, staring at him and smiling.  
  
Renee elbowed Amanda who was sitting next to her and whispered to her in a confused tone.  
  
"Did I miss something there?" she asked, looking pointedly at James and Lily who were staring into each other's eyes and smiling widely.  
  
Amanda rolled her eyes, "Do you ever GET anything?" she scoffed, but looking at her friends interestedly nonetheless.  
  
Lily looked into James eyes and didn't shudder at the emotions she saw there. His eyes showed plain and unconditional love for Lily, and only Lily, and she couldn't help but smile.  
  
James loved Lily's eyes, they were so green and electric; the colour was almost unnatural, but beautiful all the same.  
  
"Top of the morning peoples!" called Sirius as he neared the table, bringing both James and Lily out of their reverie.  
  
He pushed Lily and James apart by their shoulders and squished himself in between them; completely unaware of the moment he had interrupted.  
  
"Morning Sirius." James said through gritted teeth, giving the boy his patented death glare that he usually only used on Snape.  
  
Sirius was oblivious to James' glare as he helped himself to four poptarts and a peach and put them on the plate nearest him. For someone who was mourning the injury of his prized banjo, he was awfully cheery.  
  
"I'm going to go get ready for class, I'll see you round everyone!" Said Lily, giving James a pained expression.  
  
"Yeah, I need to get some last minute homework in before class! I'll see you all in class!" Said James, running off to join Lily as she strolled out the door.  
  
"Hey Lils, Can I have a word?" asked James, running his hand through his hair and following her out the door.  
  
"Sure!" answered Lily, leaning back against the wall.  
  
"Well, I was just wondering, about well... well..." James stuttered, looking awkward.  
  
"What is it James, you know you can talk to me about anything!" said Lily, stroking James' messy hair.  
  
"Iwannatalkaboutus!" he said as quickly as possible.  
  
"Sorry?" laughed Lily. "Did you just say that you 'want to talk about us'?" she smiled at the blushing black-haired boy in front of her.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Mumbled James, suddenly becoming very interested in his feet.  
  
"Oh James, don't be embarrassed, I want to talk about us too but now is not the time," said Lily, and James' face fell.  
  
"Oh James, I don't mean that I don't want there to be an 'us' now, or anything like that! I just mean we have to get to class, how about we have a little picnic for dinner (A/n: bringing the picnic total up to THREE) and then we can really get to know each other again, and really talk about 'us'?" she smiled at James, who was beaming.  
  
"Sure thing babe! I'll see you later!" he said, kissing her on the cheek then skipping off.  
  
Lily shook her head in wonder and then walked off towards the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Sirius walked into the great hall looking very troubled and confused, and to everyone's amazement he also looked very deep in thought. He walked in and sat down opposite James and Lily, mumbling to himself about something or other.  
  
James looked at Lily and raised an eyebrow, she rolled her eyes and shrugged so he though he'd question the strange boy himself.  
  
"Sirius mate, are you okay?" he asked cautiously.  
  
"Uh, what?" he said, looking up and shaking his head. "Oh, yeah James! Hey can I ask you something mate?" he said, still looking very puzzled.  
  
"Sure mate, anything!" said James, looking at Sirius incredulously.  
  
"Well James, Are you gay?" asked Sirius.  
  
Lily's eyes went wide and she almost choked on the food in her mouth. Renee who was sitting next to Sirius spat out her pumpkin juice and sprayed it all over Sirius, the food in front of them and Chloe, who was staring at Sirius and didn't even notice the orange liquid dripping down her face.  
  
"SIRIUS? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALING ABOUT?" spat James, standing up. Lily put her hand on his arm and guided him back down.  
  
"I was just wondering," said Sirius, looking very muddled, "Let me explain, I fell asleep in class just now and I had the strangest dream."  
  
"What has that got to do with me?" snapped James, looking very defensive.  
  
"Well, in my dream there were two boys sitting on a checked blanket out by the lake. One of them looked remarkably like you James, same hair, same cocky air about him, except he had these really amazing green eyes!" he said, absentmindedly looking over at Lily. "And the other boy had amazing white-blonde hair, he actually looked a lot like Malfoy!" he said, shuddering along with his friends at the thought of Lucius Malfoy who was a seventh year in Slytherin. "And the black-haired boy was holding the blonde boy's hand and saying "You don't know how long I've waited for this, I love you so much." and then they kissed. But as their lips touched, a red-haired boy came flying in and he kicked the blonde-haired boy in the head Kung-fu style sending him flying. Then Remus woke me up because it was the end of class." Sirius shook his head.  
  
Lily sighed, "Oh Sirius, don't worry about it, none of your dreams are terribly coherent, so don't try and make sense of it!" she smiled encouragingly at the still worried boy sitting across from her.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right Lily! But it just seemed so real, it was sort of creepy!" said Sirius, chewing on his lip.  
  
"Yeah! Come on guys, lighten up!" Said Renee, standing on her seat, "Why don't we have a sing-a-long?" she asked, jumping up and down making her skirt fly around and her hair jump.  
  
"Sit down Renee!" hissed Amanda as Chloe stood up too.  
  
Chloe and Renee held hands and climbed up onto the table, then they began to dance around and do-se-doe, jumping over the bowls and plates of food and narrowly missing some goblets of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Will you two just get down from there!" laughed Lily, shaking her head. "You will get in trouble, now get down!" she said, now getting serious.  
  
"Fine!" laughed Renee as she jumped over Lily's head and onto the floor. "You're such a spoil sport!" she said, scruffing up Lily's perfect hair.  
  
Chloe stepped down off the table and smiled warmly at Lily. "She doesn't mean that, we love you!" she said, kissing Lily on the head and linking arms with Renee.  
  
"Well, we're off!" said Chloe.  
  
"Yeah! Off to see the, wizard!" said Renee, looking slightly confused at how that had worked.  
  
"Which wizard?" called James, laughing at the girls retreating backs.  
  
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James ran his hand through his hair and looked in the mirror one last time. He straightened his shirt, and flashed the mirror his winning smile.  
  
"Very nice dear," the mirror said, sounding bored.  
  
He walked down into the common room and waited for Lily by the fireplace. He looked deep into the flames and imagined her pretty face.  
  
"James?" came a soft feminine voice from behind him. He spun around and saw a breathtakingly beautiful Lily waiting for him.  
  
"Oh Lily!" he exclaimed, running over to her to take her arm, "Shall we?" he said, flashing her a sexy smile.  
  
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A/n: I hate this chapter! HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! :( It's just random and stupid and I HATE it! Anyway, tell me what you think! I love you all no matter what you say about it, so you can tell me if it REALLY REALLY STINKS! 


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: Do you know what is evil? Rugrats toothpaste is evil. It burns...lots. Take heed.  
  
My back is killing me...sitting hurts a lot so feel priveleged that I'm writing O_o I just lub you all so very much I felt you deserve a chapter.  
  
Chapsticks taste really, really bad.  
  
***  
  
"Chloe just leave me alone!" Snapped Remus as he paced quickly across the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest. The desperate girl had been trailing him all week making nasal cooing noises, thinking she was being affectionate.  
  
"Oh Remie just tell me where you are going! You seem very upset and I just need to know if you're okay..." Chloe trailed off. She was finding it very hard to walk as her high heels kept sinking into the soft ground.  
  
"Even if I wasn't okay, it would be no business of yours. Now just go back into the castle and leave me alone!" Remus snarled before speeding up enough to leave behind a very crestfallen Chloe.  
  
Without a backward glance, Remus made his swift way towards the darkest depths of the forest.  
  
*  
  
The lake was glowing beneath the setting sun as Lily and James spread out their blanket on the soft grass and sat down.  
  
Lily opened her basket and pulled out an array of food she had gathered from the bustling pre-dinner kitchens.  
  
"I have decided, that your diet is just not up to standard James." Began Lily, who appeared to be plotting her moves carefully. "So many apples and apple related food-stuffs simply cannot be good for you."  
  
James sat, dumbstruck, as he waited for Lily to continue her well thought out speech.  
  
"I propose we both cut down on our apple intake, and limit ourselves to one serving of apple a day. That includes apple pie, apple Danish, apple tarts, apple sauce, apple juice, apple quiche, apple goo, apple poptarts, apple mush, and apple flavoured sweets, fillings and room deodorisers." Lily ignored James' shocked expression, and continued. "Now I know this wont be easy for you, that's why we can do it together! It will be fun! In a...diet restricting way. And you needn't worry about feeling hungry because I have designed a custom eating plan for us to follow, incorporating much more variety."  
  
"You are so lucky I love you, Lily Evans." Said James through gritted teeth.  
  
Lily gave a happy smile before placing down a platter of assorted sandwiches, a jug of pineapple juice with glasses, a bowl of grapes, and a mixed variety of poptarts (Excluding of course, apple). James gave her an amusedly puzzled look when he spotted the last item. "Sirius isn't –totally- insane." Lily said before looking out at the lake and laughing.  
  
"It'll soon be too cold to do this." Said James wistfully.  
  
"Well I suppose we'd better make the most of it then." Lily laughed and popped a grape into her mouth.  
  
***  
  
Over the months that passed, it seemed every week threw them deeper into the midst of winter. Heavy rain set in with November, making Quidditch practice very difficult indeed.  
  
On December first it began to snow lightly, and it appeared all of Gryffindor was huddled into the seemingly small common room. The fifth years had just endured a freezing day of mostly outdoor classes and some were quite damp. Having entered the common room early as it began to snow, they had claimed the best seats in front of the fire.  
  
James was staring mindlessly into the fire while Lily scribbled to finish a three foot essay about advanced levitation. Sirius had visited the kitchens on his way upstairs and was now happily munching on a cherry flavoured poptart while Amanda giggled at him for no particular reason.  
  
Gryffindors rarely saw Lupin anymore, as it seemed he had befriended Snape, much to the distaste of James and Sirius, and they now spent the majority of their time in the dungeons or on the far side of the lake.  
  
Lily still had not lifted her deal with James about limiting his apple consumption. She was rather proud that he had been doing so well, that she allowed him to have two servings of apple every second day. Lily was however concerned as to whether she was doing the right thing for James, as these days he could be rather jumpy and irritable.  
  
When this happened, James apologised profusely and said he was just trying to deal with the constant cravings.  
  
Lily had often found James having a heart to heart with Sirius about his addiction, and she was happy that James had someone to relate to and support him.  
  
James snapped out of his reverie, and smiled as he watched Lily bite her lip as she bent over her parchment. She was always so thorough in everything she did; especially school work.  
  
She was suddenly interrupted however by a loud bang, accompanied by a stream of laughter coming from a group of third years in the corner. Lily made an indignant noise and threw down her quill.  
  
James immediately moved behind Lily and began to massage her shoulders.  
  
"You're working too hard Lily. You need a break." Said James in a motherly tone.  
  
"I need to finish this essay!" Shrieked Lily. Her eyes were wide and she looked on the verge of collapsing.  
  
"I'll make you a deal. Come for a little walk with me, then we'll go to the library to finish our homework without all this noise." Reasoned James.  
  
Lily sighed. "Okay. Just let me get my bag." She hurried upstairs and left James, who cursed at the realisation that he now had to do homework.  
  
*  
  
After spending approximately two hours in the library, Lily and James pulled their weary bodies down to the great hall to have some dinner.  
  
The house elves had begun to serve winter food, so they both stocked up on soup and casseroles. Sirius, Amanda, Chloe and Renee soon arrived; all looking very restless from being cooped up in the common room.  
  
"Where have you two been?" asked Renee who was giggly insanely. Chloe slapped her and shot a pointed look towards the sausages.  
  
Lily, catching Chloe's drift, gave a grunt of disgust. "Honestly, you two should stop reading those stupid magazines and get some exercise or something! There is not enough blood flowing to your brains." The girls were still smiling guiltily as Lily ignored them and returned to her dinner.  
  
When the deserts arrived, it was all James could do to not jump on the tabletop and shake his booty at everyone. There was apple pie with whipped cream everywhere, and it seemed no one in the hall wanted to miss out. Lily gave him a nervous look, and passed him a plate of spotted dick. James turned up his nose and said, "I think I'll just go and finish some of that homework we were doing." He hurried out of the hall before Lily could comment.  
  
Figuring he wanted some time alone, Lily continued with her dessert of choice, listening into the slightly disturbing conversations around her.  
  
*  
  
James was no where to be seen when Lily returned to the common room half an hour later, and she was slightly concerned given the state he was in earlier.  
  
"Sirius, have you seen James?" She asked. Sirius saw the look in her eyes, and was immediately concerned.  
  
"No, I thought he would have told you where he was going?" Lily sighed. She was just being hyper-vigilant. James could look after himself, and it was only 8pm anyway.  
  
"Never mind. He just seemed a little upset when he left."  
  
***  
  
"Who's hair did you get?" asked a sceptical boy who had dark circles under his eyes.  
  
"I don't know exactly. Just some nobody from Hogsmeade." Replied a slimy slime ball.  
  
"This will take a lot more planning. As well as the time it takes for the Polyjuice potion to take effect. We cannot afford to slip up." Said Lupin, beginning to pace the dark room.  
  
"No one wants this more than I, Lupin. You have no idea how much I detest James potter. It is however, up to you to attain the weapon." Said Snape. He had a look of malice in his eyes which was reflected in the steaming cauldron below him.  
  
"I've taken care of it." Responded Lupin before leaving the dungeon.  
  
***  
  
By nine thirty Lily was worried sick. She'd searched the Library, astronomy towers, lake, his special place, Quidditch pitch and change rooms, dungeons and bathrooms before curfew had been activated. She was now sitting twiddling her thumbs in front of the common room fire.  
  
Her insides were writhing as she suddenly had an idea; "Sirius, where does James keep his cloak?"  
  
Sirius showed her into the dormitory and opened James' trunk with the key he knew was in James' sock drawer.  
  
Lily didn't know whether to be distraught or relieved that his invisibility cloak lay neatly folded on top of his clothes. Lily took a moment to smile fondly at the cute little red quaffle socks she saw, but immediately regained herself and grabbed the cloak.  
  
She looked at Sirius who was munching a Lemon Meringue flavoured poptart. Lily suddenly burst out laughing and kissed Sirius on the cheek. "That's it!" she cried, before hurrying downstairs and out of the common room leaving behind a very confuddled Sirius.  
  
*  
  
James' head was flat on the wooden table. He was moaning and occasionally snoring. There was a posse of house elves gathered around him with their pokin' sticks, trying to wake him up.  
  
Lily took pity on his pathetic form and cleared her throat. James jumped and stared around wildly looking for the source of the noise.  
  
"Well, well, well James Potter. Look at the mess you've made." James' jaw dropped as he whispered, "Lily?" still looking blankly around the spotless room.  
  
Lily giggled as she pulled off the invisibility cloak, revealing herself to him. The congregated elves gasped and scurried away. "Well? You can't expect these poor elves to clean up after you all the time."  
  
James suddenly remembered where he was, and looked down at the table beneath him which was laden with apple pie, apple Danish, apple tarts, apple sauce, apple juice, apple quiche, apple goo, apple poptarts, apple mush, and apple flavoured sweets, fillings and room deodorisers.  
  
"Having a little binge are we, dear?" Asked Lily, her mouth twitching slightly. James' eyes grew downcast and he frowned.  
  
"I'm sorry Lily, I suck. I know how important this was to you...I am a weak, weak man!" James sniffed at the gabselinity of his speech. Lily fought the urge to laugh; he looked so cute while acutely depressed.  
  
"Honey, it's okay. I was a fool to try and change you. I love you, apples or none." He looked up at her and grinned his Cheshire cat grin. Lily sat down next to him and stared at all the appleish foods.  
  
She picked up an apple tart and seductively began to nibble at it. James who was rather shocked at her reaction, dipped a finger into a nearby bowl of whipped cream and dabbed it on Lily's nose. She gasped as James leaned over to lick it off.  
  
And as James began to kiss her, all Lily could think was how glad she felt that it was a Friday.  
  
***  
  
Author's Note: YES!!! *FADE TO BLACK!!!* WOOHOO!!!!!! I feel so accepted...I am now officially a member of the PG community of FanFiction. Remember kids...ALWAYS fade to black. 


	19. Chapter 19

Author's note: I think Sarah will kill me if I don't write this chapter before I go to camp for a week, so be prepared for a pretty short chapter from me since I leave for camp 8:30 tomorrow morning! My last chapter had a lot of Renee in it, (Did u notice?) That was because my little cousin Renee wanted that character to be in it more, so I do apologize for the Renee saturation! Anyway, if I don't get this finished I'll either send it to Sarah to finish off, or you'll all just have to wait a week for this Chapter! If that is going to be the case I apologize in advance. Okay well, here goes!  
  
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Chapter 19- Jade is so dumb (  
  
A/n: Okay, you have had to wait a week for this chapter and it is entirely my fault, no one dare blame Sarah because this has nothing to do with her, I am the terrible horrible person who has denied you the next chapter of this story! I am so bad I didn't even start this before I went to camp! But enough complaining because HERE IT IS!!!  
  
Chapter 19 (Take 2)- Jade is so dumb! (Sarah Note: Lmao, Jade you're so cute.)  
  
James held Lily close to him and kissed her, savouring every moment that their lips were in contact. Lily pulled away just before James made the decision to deepen their kiss. He smiled at her, hiding his disappointment.  
  
"Oh James!" she whispered, "We're in the kitchen!" she sighed, not realising that she was stating the obvious.  
  
James laughed at her dreamy expression, "I'm well aware of that!" he laughed, and Lily looked at him confused.  
  
"Oh, You know what I mean James." She laughed, taking his apple goo encrusted hand in her own.  
  
"Eww!" she squealed, removing her hand immediately. "You silly monkey you're covered in apple! Why don't you go and take a shower then meet me back at Gryffindor tower?" she laughed, grabbing a bottle of mineral water and walking out the door.  
  
"MONKEY?" asked James incredulously, "Who are you calling a Monkey?" he gently pushed her against the door and ruffled her hair.  
  
"ARGH! What are you doing James?" she squealed, shaking up the bottle of mineral water and aiming the opened top at James.  
  
James let out a very undignified and un-James like squeal as he was showered with mineral water.  
  
"What did you do that for?" he asked, staring at Lily like she was crazy.  
  
She shrugged, "I had the sudden urge to spray you with mineral water!" she laughed, falling to the floor in hysterics at the sight of the mineral water soaked James.  
  
"Well I'm glad you think it's funny!" he said, running his hand through his hair and grimacing.  
  
"It's going to take me forever to wash all of this out of my hair and get it looking good again." He said really solemnly before his face lit up as an idea hit him and he flashed Lily his Cheshire cat grin.  
  
He began to walk away from the kitchens, up the hallway that led to the prefects' bathroom. Lily looked confused but she dutifully followed.  
  
As they reached the door of the prefects' bathroom Lily put her hand in front of James and stopped him.  
  
"What are you doing James? We aren't prefects, we can't go in there!" She whispered conspiratorially.  
  
"Periwinkle!" he whispered, grinning at her and the door swung open.  
  
"Daniel Weasley gave me the password, he said I could use it whenever I want as long as I don't get caught." He said, creeping into the elegant bathroom and gesturing for Lily to follow.  
  
She walked in and shut the door quietly, hoping that they wouldn't get caught in a place they shouldn't be. Especially after curfew.  
  
"You want to join me and help me wash this gunk out of my hair?" he asked casually, gesturing at his goo encrusted, mineral water soaked hair.  
  
"I dunno James," she said, looking at her feet and blushing at the idea of bathing naked with James.  
  
"You're adorably beautiful when you blush like that Lily." Said James, running his and softly across her reddened cheek. "You can transfigure your underwear into bathers." He said sympathetically, mentally slapping himself for wishing she would bath with him naked.  
  
"Oh yeah! Of course!" said Lily, realising how stupid she'd been. She faced the wall and stripped down to her underwear, only vaguely aware of James' eyes on her half naked back.  
  
She transfigured her underwear in a skimpy bikini and spun around, just seeing James climb into the bath completely naked.  
  
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Sirius walked into the Gryffindor tower. He'd been for a walk to the Shrieking shack in hope of finding James there but was unsuccessful. He was still a little stunned at Lily's reaction earlier and he hoped that she'd found him.  
  
He looked around the common room and realised that the only other occupants were two girls huddled together in the far corner, he moved towards the fire before he did a double take towards the girls. It was Renee and Amanda. Renee had her arms around Amanda who was crying violently.  
  
"What's wrong Mandy?" he called, running across the room to the small chair the girls were seated on.  
  
Renee looked up at him and shrugged, and Amanda's head soon followed Renee's.  
  
"Siri?" she choked, looking up at the boy standing beside her, her face was red and tear stained and Sirius secretly thought she looked vulnerably beautiful.  
  
"Yes, it's me! I'm here Mandy, what's wrong?" he asked as he picked her up in his arms and pulled her into his lap on a larger couch. Renee gave him an appreciative smile and stretched her legs.  
  
Amanda curled up against Sirius and snuggled into his body. Sirius sighed and stroked her beautiful hair. His heart breaking from the pain he could see in her eyes and feel in her shuddering sobs.  
  
"What's wrong Mandy? What happened?" he asked calmly, rubbing his warm hand down her back.  
  
She looked up at him with her sad blue eyes and sniffed. She stuffed a crumpled piece of paper into his chest before collapsing in another fit of tears.  
  
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"JAMES!?" cried Lily, looking scandalized, "I though you said we'd be wearing bathers?" she stared at his naked chest as he immersed the bottom half of his body into the sweet smelling water.  
  
He smiled wickedly and Lily's heart melted. It was that smile that made Lily sure that she loved James Potter, even when he was at his most evil.  
  
"I said YOU could be in your bathers, I never said anything about me!" he said, smirking at her sexily. 'Now are you getting in or do I have to get out and drag you in?" he asked, starting to stand.  
  
"EW! No! Stay down James, I can get in myself!" she said, shielding her innocent eyes and walked towards the large tub gingerly.  
  
James took her hands and led her into the bath, even though her eyes were wide open now. She smiled sweetly at him as she eased herself into the pleasant water.  
  
"Is the temperature alright for you?" he asked, as he swept a piece of hair away from her face.  
  
"Perfect." she whispered, feeling seduced by his touch.  
  
He leant forward and kissed her, chastely at first but then as they got used to the feeling he deepened the kiss, his warm tongue whisking over her perfect lips.  
  
She opened her mouth and allowed his tongue entrance, sighing at the sheer beauty of the moment and trying to forget the fact that she was kissing a naked boy.  
  
As they kiss got more passionate and heated, Lily struggled to keep her head. She was getting lost in the misty aromas coming off in the steam that rose from the bath, and the passionate urgency of their ever-deepening kiss.  
  
Finally, she found the strength to pull back from the kiss, slowly opening her eyes and licking the taste of James off her lips and savouring it.  
  
She stared into James' eyes as he too opened them, and smiled at the blissful ecstasy that he was quite obviously feeling.  
  
"I love you." he said quietly, leaning in to kiss her cheek carefully.  
  
"I love you too." she whispered into his ear, making him shiver.  
  
They both could honestly admit that they had never experienced a moment so beautiful in their trivial, innocent lives.  
  
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Sirius continued to stroke Amanda's back while he awkwardly unscrewed the piece of parchment that she had thrust at his chest. He finally got it flat and he scanned through it taking in the words.  
  
'Dearest Amanda,  
  
It's pains me a great deal to write this to you, but I know it would hurt you a lot more not to know. Last week, your Cousin Sebastian who has been living in Hawaii passed away. There were some suspicious circumstances regarding his death, so much to my dismay your Uncle Anton asked for an autopsy. The findings of the autopsy came back, and I thought it would be best if you knew the conditions around your dear cousin's death.  
  
As you know, Sebastian had quite the fondness for pineapples, and during the great pineapple festival in Hawaii, he ate around 50 pineapples along with other pineapple-flavored things. He stomach could not handle the acidity of all the pineapples, and after hours of terrible pain, his stomach exploded and he was killed.  
  
I'm sorry to have to break this news to you, as I know you were very close to Sebastian. There will be a short service in Hawaii next week but I do not know if you can come home from school to attend it. I will send this letter through your mother as I do not know your address at school. I do hope that you will be able to organise something so that you can be here to honour Sebastian's life.  
  
Your Loving Aunt Margaret xxx'  
  
"Oh Amanda!" Sirius cried, bundling the girl up in his arms more tightly. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Amanda sobbed pathetically and sniffed then looked up into Sirius' eyes.  
  
"You really care about me don't you Sirius?" she sobbed, wiping away each tear feebly as they streamed down her face. "I really loved him you know, he was my favorite cousin!" she sobbed, gripping the front of Sirius' shirt desperately.  
  
"I know Mandy, I know that it hurts. Are you going to go to the service?" he asked calmly, stroking her hair.  
  
"I don't know. Mum sent me another letter saying that she would write to Dumbledore and ask for a leave of absence for me. But only if I want to go, and I'm not sure that I could cope." she whispered, looking positively exhausted.  
  
"Well why don't you come with me up to the boys dormitory, I have some chocolate that will make you feel better and then I'll take you to your bed and you can get some sleep. You'll feel much better in the morning. Try not to think about it okay?" he said, smiling at the vulnerable girl in his arms.  
  
"Okay, thank you so much Sirius, you are so sweet." She said, and she reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips.  
  
He beamed at her lovely gesture and helped her up the stairs into the boys' dormitory where he sat her down on his bed.  
  
"Here, have some chocolate," he said as he handed her some of Honeydukes' best chocolate.  
  
"Thanks." She whimpered, biting into it and instantly feeling much better. "You were right, chocolate is the best!" she sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder.  
  
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"Come on James, we better do what we came here to do before we get caught," sighed Lily as she positioned herself behind James.  
  
"Well we WERE just doing what I came here to do!" laughed James, reaching behind him and stroking Lily's leg.  
  
"JAMES!" laughed Lily, looking playfully appalled and slapping James' bare shoulder. "What about your precious hair? If you want we could focus more on what we were doing and leave your hair in the state it is in now..." she said, running her hands through it seductively.  
  
James shuddered involuntarily and shook his head. "As much as I would love that my Lily-Flower, my reputation is at stake and I wouldn't want to leave this bathroom without returning my hair to it's rightful former glory!" he grabbed a bottle of shampoo from the side of the tub and squeezed and lavish amount into Lily's outstretched palm.  
  
She rubbed her hands together and began to smooth the sticky, sweet smelling goo into James' hair and scrubbed it slowly and methodically.  
  
"Damn Lily! I should get you to wash my hair everyday, you have amazing hands!" he moaned, causing Lily to blush as she saw a mixed meaning to his compliment.  
  
"But then it wouldn't be special now would it?" she cooed as she began to rub and stroke his hair with a bit more vigour.  
  
"Oh, I don't see how this could ever stop being special." he groaned, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment.  
  
Lily laughed inwardly as she saw the bliss in his face, she began to smile wickedly and without warning she dunked his head down under the warm water to rinse off the suds.  
  
As she released the pressure on his shoulders after a few seconds and he came up to the surface spluttering.  
  
"What was that for?" he asked, puffing and looking at Lily with a very hurt look in his eyes.  
  
"I was just rinsing your hair," she said simply, smiling at her beautiful James.  
  
"Yeah well, you're lucky I love you!" he grunted as he turned back around and handed Lily the conditioner.  
  
Lily smiled as she filled her hand with the special treatment conditioner that James had handed her, she rubbed it slowly through his coarse hair and brushed her fingers through the knots.  
  
"Who'd have thought he uses all this on his hair, and then he just messes it up?" she thought to herself as she ran her hands through his amazing hair.  
  
"You have great hands Lily," repeated James, taking one of her hands away from his head and stroking it in his own rough hand. "They're so soft, yet so strong and talented," he continued in his silky suave voice. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.  
  
"I want to ask you something Lily," he said, as he let go of her hand and she continued to smooth his hair.  
  
"Anything." Lily replied softly, holding her breath slightly.  
  
"Lily, we've been really close for a while now, and I've been wanting to talk to you about us for a while, but this has just taken too long for me so I'm going to talk to you straight. Lily Evans, will you be my girlfriend?" asked James quietly, turning around to look deep into Lily's green eyes.  
  
"Oh James! That was so sweet! Of course I will! I would love to be your girlfriend!" She sighed, moving in closer to James to kiss him lightly.  
  
He on the other hand had other ideas; he pulled her in closer to his naked body and kissed her deeply, letting his tongue slip deeply into her mouth as she gasped in surprise. She finally gave into him and pulled herself closer, wrapping her legs around his torso and returning his deep kiss.  
  
After a few minutes of deepening passionate kissing, Lily pulled away once again and got her breath back.  
  
"Come on James, let's get out of this bath." she whispered, standing up and taking a towel off the nearest rack.  
  
James grinned wickedly and climbed out after her, taking a few minutes to reach the towel and wrap it around himself.  
  
Lily just blushed and looked away, pretending not to notice the effect that their kisses had had on James.  
  
She grabbed her clothes and took James' hand and they ran, clad in just their towels, back to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
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Sirius looked down at the beautiful girl resting on his shoulder and leant down towards her, kissing her softly on the corner of her mouth. She looked up at him questioningly.  
  
"You had a spot of chocolate on your mouth," he said innocently, and she laughed. Then Amanda lifted her head and placed a firm kiss on Sirius' mouth, resting her lips there for a few seconds before pulling away.  
  
"You had chocolate on your lips," she giggled, looking deep into Sirius' eyes.  
  
"I hadn't eaten any chocolate Mandy!" he laughed, pushing her down and pressing his lips onto hers.  
  
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A/n: Wasn't that a squelchy romantic chapter? UGH! I think I'm gonna be sick! Anyway, I'm going to make a request, that if you review to this chapter put in a random word or phrase at the bottom in brackets, and I will do my best to put that into my next chapter! That is MY next chapter, like chapter 21! Okay, so if anyone wants to do that, please do coz I think that would be way cool! I'm gonna send this over to Sarah now so she can Beta it and write her chapter!! And I will apologize once more for how late this chapter is! I AM A BAD BAD PERSON!! Jade xxx  
  
~*~  
  
*Sarah starts twitching and convulsing from the monotony of removing the majority of exclamation marks from 2930 words* TWITCH. CONVULSE. 


	20. Chapter 20

Eek...here I go for hopefully the last of many tries to write this God forsaken chapter... Thanks goes to my darling *insert unmentionable here* for my daily injection of happy. You're amazing and I love you!  
  
*Ahem* Sorry for my stupid lateness. This stupid chapter will be stupidly completed tonight! I am stupidly determined!  
  
Happy 20th chapter to all! Yaaay!  
  
***  
  
Amanda seemed to find solace in the fact that she now seemed to have Sirius totally benquoined to her, and was crying much less throughout the day. She'd opted not to attend her cousin's funeral, as it coincided terribly with the last Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas.  
  
James and Sirius hardly spent any time together that week, as they were both rather preoccupied with their newfound companions. They shared only quick, heavy-eyed conversations at the breakfast table and short sentences between classes.  
  
By Friday, Renee and Chloe were rather worried about James and Sirius and Amanda and Lily. They didn't seem to even acknowledge each other. Lily was never seen anywhere without James, and Amanda never left Sirius' side. At first it was cute that they were all so in love, but now it was just nauseating.  
  
On Saturday morning, Renee and Chloe ran down to the kitchens early and packed three picnic baskets with scrummy winter foods then went to find their friends. They were going to have a big group picnic lunch, and lovey- dovey behaviour was strictly forbidden.  
  
It was between the hours of nine and ten that the foursome made their individual ways out of their rooms. Renee and Chloe were anxiously awaiting their awakening, chatting at a table on which the picnic baskets were stacked.  
  
When finally Sirius emerged with puffy eyes and his ever-scruffy hair, Renee and Chloe dragged them outside despite their complaining; baskets levitating happily behind them.  
  
"What is wrong with you? It's winter and it's freezing...I'm not going out there to picnic with you, I wont." Stated a grumpy Amanda. Lily and James however were giggling together as they meandered along with the group, looking very cosy indeed.  
  
Renee turned to answer Amanda, but faulted at once on seeing James and Lily. "Hey you two! Cut it out, there will be none of that today. This is a purely platonic outing which will be suitable for the eyes and minds of children under five, and would not cause those children to ask questions of their squicky parents, do you understand?" Lily immediately dropped James' hand and started fidgeting nervously with her head bowed. James however gave an indignant grunt, but rather terrified by Renee's expression, took a step away from Lily.  
  
Sirius who had been straggling behind the group until now, sped up and was goggling at Renee and Chloe as if they were insane. "Do you mean to tell me, that you are taking us outside in the freezing subzero weather while it's snowing, to sit around like good little pancake children who abide happily by the ten centimetre rule?" He asked incredulously.  
  
Chloe gave him a cheeky smile. "We brought poptarts. Every flavour." She said simply.  
  
Sirius' expression changed completely into one of joy. "Well, I'm sold." He said with a businessmanlike air and sped up to lead the group.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile at the breakfast table, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were catching up over some marmalade soup jelly pie. Peter was concerned (in an evil, rattish way of course) about Remus' withdrawn behaviour lately. He also was silently wanting to know why he had been spotted fraternising with Snape on more than one occasion.  
  
"You were so close to James and Sirius though. Surely it's nothing that can't be worked out?" Said Peter fairly.  
  
"Oh well I'm sure it can be worked out...You see, I don't even know why James hates me. Sirius has no reason to, although I haven't spoken to him properly in quite a while. No, I think this is nothing more than a fault of a couple of insane teenagers somewhere in Australia writing me badly. I mean, everyone knows I'm not evil. But I understand these girls woes...with the absence of super-sexy-evil Draco Malfoy, and Severus being so pathetic and cute, they are rather short of a villain. I, being the kind soul I am, am more than happy to be of service." Said Remus with a rather vacant smile.  
  
"Oh..." said Peter. Rather frightened. In an attempt to hide his terror and slight concern for Remus' sanity, he turned to the person next to him and started gnawing on their shoulder.  
  
Remus, who wasn't disconcerted by this at all, smiled cheerfully and slapped Peter gently on the back before getting up. "Well if you'll excuse me Peter, you look rather occupied, and I have some evil plotting meetings to attend to. Good day!"  
  
Peter grunted in reply, and continued gnawing his housemate's shoulder.  
  
***  
  
"Lily, light one of those wicked blue fires you're so wonderfully talented at producing." Said James as the group arrived at their desired destination, by the frozen lake; the same place at which Lily and James had sat only months before in more pleasant weather.  
  
Lily smiled at the compliment and lit several small fires atop cardboard coasters which she then levitated to hover (SAFELY) around the edges of the magically waterproof quilt Renee had just thrown down over the heavily snowed on ground.  
  
Sirius was sitting on his heels on the rug, biting his lip in anticipation with a begging look in his eyes as Chloe began to unpack the large amount of food they'd brought.  
  
Soon enough, the blanket was littered with plates and plates of food, including Sirius' promised poptarts. There was pumpkin pie, Shepard's pie, steak and kidney pie, chicken pie, lamb stew, beef stew, chicken stew, fish stew, vegetable stew, fruit stew, and a lamb/beef/chicken/fish/vegetable/fruit stew. They had chocolate pudding for dessert, and Chloe had brought a magicy-type thermos full of hot chocolate.  
  
James was starting to become cranky because he hadn't had any apple related foods today, so Lily grabbed a poptart and transfigured it into a large shiny red apple for him. James, in his delight, leant over to kiss Lily, but stopped instantly at the steely look in Renee's eyes. He instead gave her an awkward pat on the head.  
  
Half an hour later, Amanda who was contentedly sated, performed a scouring charm on all of the plates and mugs and then helped Lily stack everything back inside the boxes.  
  
Sirius was laying on his back clutching his bloated stomach. He had over- indulged himself slightly in the poptart department. James however was buzzing merrily since he'd devoured his apple, and was looking for something with which to entertain himself.  
  
Gaining inspiration from Lily's brilliant use of transfiguration, he raced out towards the lake and took off his shoes. His sudden movement had alerted Sirius, who was now watching him curiously.  
  
"Glacies calceus" muttered James, and his dusty old sneakers turned into forest green leather ice skates. He laughed at his own brilliance, and pulled them on.  
  
By now the whole group was watching him silently, with smiles of admiration painted on their happy little faces. James was shakily sliding onto the icy lake, arms outstretched, determined not to make a complete ass out of himself.  
  
Lily walked over to the lake and took off her shoes as well. She said the charm, and her shiny black mary-janes transformed into perfect, gleaming white ice skates. James turned around and held out his hand. Lily took it and nervously shuffled onto the slippery ice.  
  
Before long, the remaining teens had transfigured their shoes. Amanda was wearing sparkling red skates, Sirius; sexy black patent-leather, Chloe; baby pink, and Renee; lurid bright orange skates.  
  
Sirius and James, being the Macho-Men that they were, insisted on skating around the lake first, checking that it was safe for them to be prancing on.  
  
When the boys were satisfied, they made their way back to the girls and they all set off, although some wobbling fiercely, trying to get their balance.  
  
Amanda was clutching Sirius' arm in a feeble attempt to remain vertical, and an irritated squawk from Renee made Sirius look around. He laughed when he realised her objection. "Screw your rule, Renee. But if we disappear behind a tree I give you permission to slap me." Both of them laughed heartily at this extremely non-humorous, barely-there joke, and continued their exploration.  
  
After about 20 minutes, those who weren't completely untalented in the skating arena, went right out across the lake to show off; leaving Renee and Amanda grasping each others' arms, trying not to slide into an awkward position.  
  
Within a few minutes they had attained enough confidence to both move approximately 2 metres forward; only to lose their nerve and scurry back towards each other immediately.  
  
*  
  
The red-faced able foursome returned to the lake's edge half an hour later to find Amanda and Renee sitting on the transfigured rug, now an inflatable couch, reading stupid girly magazines they had summoned from their room.  
  
Amanda gave them a haughty smile and Renee giggled. "We're really not into the whole...recreational frolicking...scene. But! While you were prancing around in the cold, Renee and I were learning how to optimise our eyelashes by just a simple move of the mascara brush. Now that, is useful."  
  
James gave the girls a mortified look, but Sirius just shrugged off his beloved's ditziness and squeezed himself in between them on the small couch.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes as she performed the reversal charm (Reverto calceus) on her shoes and walked over to lean against James' chest. Renee, who was happy fiddling with her hair, and Chloe who didn't really care anymore, said nothing about this act of affection.  
  
"Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm freezing so lets go back inside and defrost. The others readily agreed, and after five minutes of un- transfiguring and packing up, the cheerful group made their way slowly back up to the castle.  
  
*  
  
Once thoroughly thawed, Lily sat at a table in the Gryffindor common room with her eyebrows furrowed, studying a complicated looking planetary chart.  
  
James was growing tired of watching Sirius and a brawny sixth year play a vicious game of exploding snap for 5 galleons, and he turned to watch Lily in her state of concentration. He grinned cheekily as a very sinful thought marched into his head, set up camp and began cooking a potato. Trying to be as subtle as possible, James wandered over to where Lily was sitting.  
  
"Looks like fun." He said. Lily jumped at the sound of his voice and then smiled.  
  
"Oh yeah, oodles." She smirked then pulled out a chair next to her and invited James to sit. He obliged happily, and settled himself very close to Lily.  
  
She continued to read on, occasionally stopping to scrawl something in a nearby note book. James remained silent, however he was sneakily moving closer to Lily and swiftly snaked his arm around her back.  
  
Lily smiled impishly and pretended not to notice James' implications. She persisted with her homework for the next few minutes, amid James' increasingly mischievous actions. It seemed however that her breaking point was when James began to blow softly over her ears and wafted the wispy hair around her face.  
  
She immediately threw her quill down and leapt out of her chair. James was looking at her anxiously, wondering if he was in trouble. His concerns however were proved unwarranted when Lily grabbed his shirt and pulled him from his seat and upstairs towards the boys' dormitories.  
  
***  
  
Author's Note: Argh! *Gets down on her hands and knees* Please don't eat me! I extended that chapter quite a bit to try and grovel my way back into acceptable status due to my incomparable absence and abandonment of duty. Man...I'm such a nerd. But hey if you're ever short a thesaurus...*ahem* Again, my sincerest apologies for being so crap. I hope this chapter is okay though...I am merely the messenger for a much higher power! I was so stuck and uninspired I just couldn't write at all...but my darling beautiful muse, your excellently fantastic author of all the 'masculine' odd numbered chapters, Jade, wrote paragraphs 3 and 4 for me to get me cooking! And it turned out wonderfully in my opinion! Bow down to the majestic greatness that is Jade! *Bows*  
  
I might answer some reviews now...Yes...must continue grovelling...  
  
Childofoceans: Hey! I agree with you on the vixen-esquity; so I added my lame PG-13 attempt at a vamp-ish Lily in the last paragraph. Oh I am just too racy. Anyway, I shall keep that in mind the next time she arrives on set ;)  
  
Kimmie: You rule me. Thankyou so much for bothering to read our depraved lil story! Good luck with your school stuff my love!  
  
Elven Dagger: I agree with you totally...Hehe. Stuff in this story is generally pretty random, and the reasoning is screwed because it's written by two veeeery different people. But I'm not too worried about it because the general overtone in this story is light-hearted; it's not necessarily supposed to make sense. Thanks for the constructive-ness! I definitely bear all of those factors in mind when I write...believe it or not.  
  
Eric2: Jade and I have contemplated writing some outtakes when we've finished this story, however there will be no boat mooring, rousing games of 'hide the sausage', vacuuming the carpet, tube-snake boogying, trips to the Hawaiian island 'kom-on-I-wanna-lay-er', lube jobs/oil changes, or partaking of pink tacos in this version. Besides the fact we could be sued for advocating child pornography (the kiddies are only 15) or something. No, no we couldn't, but you get the idea. I am sure though that Jade and I will not be averse to including a few more 'fade-to-black' scenes for your infuriation ;)  
  
Sakura_tree101: Yup, that dream was an evil journey I ventured on in my freakishly heavy slumber. Except it was me, not Sirius :P I'd love to include some of my weird drug induced hallucinations in this story...but I really don't want to scare the lovely readers away. Jade would never forgive me.  
  
Thankyou to everyone else to who reviewed! And those who don't review but still read! And a special thankyou on behalf of Jade for those who included random phrases for her to play with in her next chapter. Her Internet is being gay at the moment however, so a delay could be possible.  
  
Farewell and Goodnight. 


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note: Sarah is just great isn't she? Hopefully no-one has lost faith in this story since chapter 18 was delayed by Sarah-writer's-blockage and then chapter 19 was delayed by jade-being-on-camp-ness and then chapter 20 was delayed by Sarah-being-un-inspired-ness. It has been a long hard road to chapter 20, but from here on we will soar! Luckily my heroic father saved my internet from being dead for too long, and now I am able to upload and read and write and everything like that!!  
  
I think Sarah is just the funniest! I don't know WHAT to write now, her chapter was just beautiful! But I'll try; I'll try try try! {Aaaah!!! Pumpkins!! You're so great and you don't even know why – Sarah Ramblings}  
  
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Chapter 21-  
  
As Lily dragged a very impressed James upstairs, Sirius looked around the room for Amanda, hoping that she had seen their little display and would do the same to him. But Amanda was busy giving some first years some magical beauty tips so he forced his attention back on the game he was still playing.  
  
Before he knew it, the 6th year he was playing exploding snap against had beaten him and he had to pay up. Truth-be-told, after seeing Lily and James run off to go do who knows what, he had played rather lackadaisically but he wasn't in the mood to call for a replay.  
  
*  
  
Amanda sat beside Renee and looked around the room boredly. She really didn't want to be sitting here with these first years but on a whim of kindness she had promised to give them some magical beauty tips.  
  
Renee was teaching the giggling first years a spell they had named the "Fluffy Octopi" spell, because the real name was far too confusing to pronounce. It was a really great spell that they had used on many occasions to put REALLY soft ringlets in Lily's flaming red hair. Lily was awfully fond of curly hair and they had found the 'Fluffy Octopi' spell after two days of searching back in their 2nd year.  
  
"Amanda? Can I do the spell on you to show them how it works?" Renee asked, trying to get Amanda to focus on their task.  
  
"Um, why don't you do it on Libby," she said quickly, grabbing one of the first years that had particularly long blonde hair and pulling her forward. "I have to go now girls, I have to finish something off." She mumbled as she walked off from the little group, a wicked plot forming in her sweet little mind.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Lily smirked (A/n: yes, in my world Lily smirks and you're in my world now, bitch! {Ooh, way to dictate. You'll do well yet...-Sarah}) sexily at her stunned boyfriend who was seated on his bed. She looked at him seductively and he audibly gulped.  
  
"What's wrong James?" she asked leaning back against the wall she was standing near.  
  
"Nothing Lily, you're just so beautiful!" he breathed, looking his sexy girlfriend up and down.  
  
Lily decided she needed to relieve all of the tension and stress that she had acquired whilst pondering over the planetary chart she'd just thrown aside downstairs.  
  
"Stay right here." She said seductively as a sinful plan developed in her head. When she saw James nod dumbly, she spun around and made her way into the boy's bathrooms.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Amanda ran upstairs to her dormitory, yelling for Chloe the whole way. When she reached the door, Chloe threw it open looking very worried.  
  
"What's up Mandy? What happened?" she asked, looking very breathless although she'd only moved from her bed to the door.  
  
"Nothing's wrong Chloe, in fact everything is just right! I just need a little help." said Amanda, grinning wickedly.  
  
Amanda explained her plan to Chloe down to the very last detail, and excited about finally being included in Amanda's life, Chloe agreed to help.  
  
They went through their wardrobes, finding nothing that would suffice so Chloe ran downstairs to enlist Renee in their little plan.  
  
*  
  
When Chloe reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw that dragging Renee away to help them would be more difficult than she'd first assumed.  
  
Renee was sitting by the fire; talking with Sirius and doing something that looked a bit like sewing.  
  
She strode over to have a closer look. Renee and Sirius were discussing whatever sort of craft she had in her hands, and she was stirring a bowl of what seemed to be unset Jelly. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask.  
  
"Renee what are you doing?" she asked, not caring that she had butted into a very deep conversation between her two ditzy friends.  
  
Renee looked startled at Chloe's sudden appearance, she hadn't heard her friend approach and was under the impression she was studying upstairs where it was more quiet as that was what she'd told everyone earlier.  
  
"I'm making a Porcupine Jello Pillow," she said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.  
  
"A What!?" asked Chloe, rather loudly.  
  
Renee rolled her eyes and shot a cooling spell at the bowl of Jelly before she spoke. "A Porcupine Jello Pillow," she said slowly, as if this would make it all seem clearer. When Chloe looked at her like she didn't understand she rolled her eyes once more and said something that sounded like "Honestly!" under her breath to Sirius, who rolled his eyes sympathetically. Then Renee picked up a piece of parchment from the floor beside her and shoved it into Chloe's hands.  
  
"A porcupine jello pillow!" she said once more, before starting to spoon the red jelly into the strange spiky piece of material.  
  
Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head in wonder before she looked at the piece of parchment and read through it.  
  
It was a letter from Renee's pen friend that went to an American Wizardry school. After a few pieces of gossip and some meaningless chit-chat the letter turned more serious when Gabriella started to describe an "awesome" project she'd been working on called a 'Porcupine Jello Pillow.' Which was purely a porcupine shaped pillow, which was filled with Jello. She then gave Renee instructions on how to make it.  
  
"Great!" said Chloe, looking at her friend encouragingly.  
  
Renee smiled wildly, "It's pretty cool eh? Sirius thinks I should sell them, you see the key is to get the density of the jelly, just right," she said, beaming at Sirius.  
  
"Wicked," said Chloe, trying to sound convincing, "But look I really need your help, are you nearly done here?" she needed to get back to Amanda before she came down ready to kill.  
  
"Sure, this is done. Now isn't it cute?" she cooed, pointing the Porcupine Jello Pillow at her and smiling. Chloe nodded and pulled her away, smiling and saying a quick goodbye to Sirius as she dragged Renee upstairs.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Lily stood in the boys bathroom and tried hard not to giggle, she'd finished stripping down to her underwear, which today was thankfully one of her sexiest matching sets. She winked at herself in the mirror and then held back another fit of giggles. Sometime during this year a new Lily had awoken inside her, and she was definitely showing herself tonight.  
  
She looked in the mirror one last time and thanked Merlin that the castle was magically heated before she pushed open the door and walked out into the room.  
  
James was sitting on the bed in exactly the same position he had been in when she'd left; as if he was afraid to have even moved an inch.  
  
Lily whispered some locking charms on the door and then walked out to where James could see her.  
  
He looked up and his eyes met hers and he looked her up and down, his breathing starting to get louder.  
  
"Lily," he breathed, "You're so beautiful."  
  
His words warmed her and she made her way quickly across the room to his bed.  
  
"I love you James,' she whispered as she sat down on the bed with him.  
  
"I love you Lily," he replied before he captured her lips with his own.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
When Chloe and Renee reached their dormitory, Amanda was pacing around looking murderous.  
  
"What took you so damn long?" she asked as she noticed their arrival.  
  
"Don't ask," Chloe sighed before Renee could get into a full-fledged description of her newest project.  
  
"Fine, but can we work on this before he goes to bed!" she said, sitting down on the bed, she put her head into her hands. "What if he just thinks I'm some sort of easy whore?" she asked after a long silence.  
  
"I'm sure he wont, but maybe we could just plan and scheme today because boys can't come up to the Girls' dormitories and Lily and James have thoroughly occupied the boys ones." Reasoned Chloe.  
  
"Could someone explain to me what is going on?" asked Renee, looking back and forth between her two friends.  
  
Chloe smiled and sat Renee down as they began to explain Amanda's little scheme to Renee.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************************************  
  
When Lily woke up the next morning she felt a warm body snuggled up closely to her own. She snuggled up next to James and sighed contently.  
  
"Morning, beautiful," James mumbled as he felt her move.  
  
"Morning." she yawned and she looked over at the clock, it was 8:30 but she didn't panic, on Sundays breakfast was available until 11.  
  
She snuggled back down against James and soon his rhythmic breathing relaxed her back into slumber.  
  
***  
  
The second time Lily woke it was 9:05 and she decided it was time for her to get up. She peeled back the covers and moved James' protective arm before stepping out of the bed and going into the bathroom to retrieve her clothing that she had left in there the night before.  
  
She pulled he pants back on over her sexy underwear, cringing at the thought that she would be wearing the same underwear she'd worn the day before and all night. Finally deciding that hygiene was more important than romance, she kissed James on the cheek and left a note on his pillow saying that she would wait for him in the common room so they could go to breakfast together.  
  
She then crept out of the room and then slammed the door shut behind her to ensure that she wouldn't have to wait all morning for James to wake up.  
  
***  
  
When Lily quietly pushed the door to the girls' dormitory open she was greeting with something very different to the sleeping friends that she'd expected. A chorus of "Ooh Go Lily!" and other such nonsense filled the room as she walked in, making her cringe and blush.  
  
"Shut-up guys!" she laughed as she picked out some clean clothes and got her towel.  
  
"Did you have fun last night Lily?" asked Renee, smiling widely.  
  
"Nothing happened guys, grow up!" replied Lily more forcibly as she pushed past the girls and went into the bathroom to have a shower.  
  
She heard Chloe call out something about being "All grown up and experienced" like her and she ignored it as she stepped under the warm shower water, washing away their taunts and cat-calls.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Lily sat in the common room thinking about what a beautiful night she'd had with James; she loved him so much and she knew that soon she would be ready to go all the way with him.  
  
She watched as her fellow housemates passed through the common room and made their way to breakfast. Most of the girls from her dormitory had stopped and asked for her to come with them to breakfast but Lily stuck by her promise to wait for James and go with him.  
  
45 minutes after she'd left the common room there was still no sign of James or any of the boys from that dorm and Lily was starting to worry that her door slam hadn't woken them up. She worried for another five minutes before she walked up the stairs to check on the boys.  
  
When she reached the top of the stairs where the door to their dormitory was she heard that they were up, they were all laughing loudly and catcalling like her dorm mates had been doing earlier. She smiled to herself and listened at the door to see how James would avoid the other boys' questions.  
  
"So you guys actually had sex last night?" Came Sirius' awed voice from inside, Lily was confused and listened for James' response.  
  
For a while there was just silence and then Sirius begging James for an answer.  
  
"Well," James hesitated and then laughed, "Yeah we did and it was sooo awesome!"  
  
Lily gasped in pure shock and then felt the anger boil up inside her as James began to describe their so-called romantic night. Soon she couldn't take it anymore and she threw the door of the boys dormitory opened and screamed at James.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" she yelled, startling all the boys in the room, some of which were from higher and lower years. James looked at Lily and gulped.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Don't hate me! I hope you liked this so far, I didn't get all of your random comments in because the plot got in the way of random outbursts, but the remainders of them I will fit in to my next chapter so don't despair! Now we should all praise our new Messiah the wonderful fat Mankin and we should bow down to the wonderful evil dictator and my most influential friend that is Sarah!  
  
Thank-you and Goodnight! 


	22. Chapter 22

I am a bad, bad person. The end.

* * *

James stood, rooted to the spot. Icy cold dread spread through his body and his heart began to race. Lily's eyes were blazing angrily, demanding an answer from the horror-struck boy.  
  
The other boys in the dormitory realised the enormity of the situation, and immediately sidled their way passed the unflinchingly furious Lily and out the door, leaving James to greet his demise.  
  
Lily stormed closer to James, still silent. James gulped audibly once again. He was sweating from every pore now and his knees began to tremble.  
  
James tried to stutter something, but it just came out as a squeak. Lily, feeling sickened at his pathetic display, spoke.  
  
"Explain yourself you ass hat!" She demanded, her voice searing through James.  
  
"I...I..." He stammered. He obviously had no excuse. Lily grunted.  
  
"You haven't changed one bit James Potter. I was a fool to ever think you could." She said these last words in a deadly quiet voice.  
  
Lily turned to leave the room. James sunk down onto his bed in total shock. Lily let out an angry screech from the doorway and picked up a lamp from the table which she promptly hurled at James.  
  
She missed by several metres, but as she exited the dormitory, James saw the tears running down her face and cursed himself for being such a prick.

* * *

Lily arrived half an hour later at the breakfast table with red puffy eyes. Chloe, Renee and Amanda took a moment from their frivolous giggling and gasped in concern for their friend.  
  
Amanda jumped up, a quizzical look on her face as she tried to read Lily's expression. Lily remained silent and she sat down and began to fiddle with a napkin, appearing to have no intention of eating.  
  
Chloe and Renee immediately rounded on her and watched her numbly fiddle with the napkin, trying determinedly not to cry.  
  
Amanda seated herself on the other side of the table and leant over to Lily. "What's happened?" She asked, already assuming it must have something to do with James.  
  
Lily took a deep breath and sniffed. "James is stupid and gay and a whore." She said, pouting, not moving her intent gaze from the napkin she held in her hands.  
  
Amanda and Chloe exchanged apprehensive yet slightly confused glances. "What has he done, Lily?" Asked Renee cautiously.  
  
"I caught him..." Lily trailed off, not wanting to relive the moment so soon.  
  
Realising this, the three girls burst out with suggestions of their own;  
  
"Making out with someone else?" offered Amanda.  
  
"Listening to Abba?" asked Renee.  
  
"Dancing around in a leopard skin G-string and bra?" Chimed Chloe.  
  
"While listening to Abba?" Added Renee.  
  
It was difficult to determine whether Lily's next sound was a laugh or a wail, but since she was now bashing her head continuously into the table, they assumed the latter.  
  
"He told them all that we had sex!!!" She screamed, causing quite a few heads to turn in their direction.  
  
Renee and Chloe made clucking-meowing-quacking noises and threw their arms around Lily.  
  
Amanda, who was focusing on the large amount of unwanted attention they were receiving, announced accordingly; "Nothing to see here people, just carry on with your daily duties. Some people take it harder than others when the butter isn't the right temperature...Move it along."  
  
Lily was now crying and babbling incoherently, causing even more concern from Renee and Chloe considering that Lily was usually such a stable girl.  
  
Amanda jumped up from the table and walked around to her friends. "Let's just go back up to the dormitory and hang out today, huh?" She smiled uncertainly at Lily.  
  
"I don't want to go there...He's there" She said with a disgusted look on her face.  
  
"Why don't we just find somewhere nice to stay outside for the day? Somewhere no one will see us?" Suggested Chloe.  
  
Amanda thought for a second, and then agreed. "Yeah, good idea. Lily and I will go get some stuff from the kitchens, and you girls can get whatever else we may need."  
  
The girls divided and set off on their respective missions.

* * *

James hadn't moved from his position when Sirius cautiously entered the dormitory. He silently waddled over to where James was sitting, head in hands, and sat down next to him.  
  
"I'm dead." Said James simply. Sirius, who chose not to state that James was being rather melodramatic, simply sighed.  
  
"So I take it Lily didn't want people to know?" Asked Sirius hopefully, trying to assess the whole situation. James let out a nasally gobble and leapt up from his seat.  
  
"Nothing happened!" He yelled, throwing his arms out as he paced the intricately decorate carpet. "I just got so carried away in the moment and...stretched the truth slightly." Sirius also thought it was best not to point out that what he'd said wasn't just a simple slip of the tongue.  
  
"What are you going to do?" He asked instead. James stopped pacing and pondered for a moment.  
  
"There's nothing I can do. Not now anyway. I have no idea where she stands on this whole thing or what she wants to do...It's up to her." James replied.  
  
They both sat in silence thinking about how Lily would take this. "I'm dead!" James repeated, nervously running his hands through his hair.  
  
"Look, just get through today. You'll see how she's treating you, then this afternoon maybe you could talk. And if worse comes to worse, Mister Banjo's been asking about you." Reasoned Sirius.

* * *

"We should only get the essentials...wouldn't want to get caught stealing food as well as skipping class." Asserted Amanda. Lily just nodded dumbly and followed Amanda around the kitchen.  
  
Amanda pulled open the pantry and inspected her findings. "I don't think we'll be needing any apples..." She muttered to herself, not quietly enough it seemed; Lily let out a small sob behind her.  
  
Covering her carelessness, Amanda spun around and grinned nervously; "Where are those elves? We'll get them to fix us some sandwiches..."

* * *

Amanda and Lily emerged ten minutes later to find Chloe standing in the entrance hall with Renee, who was sporting a rather large bump around her mid-section.  
  
"Oh Renee! Shall I begin knitting pink or blue booties?" cooed Amanda on spotting her engorged cloak. Renee gave her a seething look and Chloe laughed.  
  
"All set?" she asked, glancing nervously at Lily who was chewing her bottom lip and staring into space somewhere towards the dungeons.  
  
"Yup, we're all sandwiched up. Lets go." Declared Amanda, who led the way out of the oak doors and into the grounds.

* * *

"She's not here. Where do you think she is?" James asked Sirius. Sirius gave James a pitying look as he surveyed his friends' tutuelephantian (A/N: adjective) dancing on the spot.  
  
"You need to calm down. None of them are here. That would lead us to believe they are all together and perfectly sound. Never fear." Sirius assured his spaced out friend who was now testing the velocity of the wall behind him with a small yet enchantingly beautiful teaspoon.  
  
There was five minutes until classes were to start. James and Sirius were standing outside the astronomy tower waiting for professor Wretzky to arrive. James felt rather dizzy after avoiding the great hall which just happened to be filled with a smorgasbord of breakfast foods this morning, and was highly dreading the rest of the day.

* * *

"Where can we go? The lake's definitely off limits...too many classrooms overlook it. And all the gardens are too exposed..." Murmured Chloe anxiously.  
  
The girls thought for a moment. It was Lily who spoke next. "I know a place. Just on the edge of the forest. No one will see us there." She said in a monotone, still staring somewhere off centre.  
  
"Come on then. We'd better hurry, class starts any minute now." Said Amanda, and Lily lead the way to what used to be her and James' sacred space.

* * *

Once arrived, Chloe disrobed Renee and pulled out their old picnic rug, and a blazing red book entitled "108 reasons to hate men" by Boshnida Spork.  
  
Amanda wrinkled her nose and gave the girls a quizzical look. "We thought it might be...interesting." Said Chloe, before shooting another nervous glance at Lily who had settled herself on the large boulder and wasn't paying attention.  
  
Renee crossed her legs and began to flip through the book. Chloe sprawled herself out over the rug and waited for Renee to speak, while Amanda leant up against Lily's rock and inspected her hands.  
  
"Reason number one: Men always assume that women assume that men should assume what women assume." Read Renee crespatially. She suddenly realised what she had just read and furrowed her brow.  
  
Chloe laughed and Amanda huffed, shooting a harsh stare at Renee. "That had better be rock bottom."  
  
Renee bit her lip and flipped quickly through the book. Meeting Amanda's gaze again, she thought it wisest just to set the book aside.  
  
There were a few moments of nearly awkward silence in which the girls whose names are not Lily looked uneasily at each other. Chloe sat up and clapped her hands. "Right ladies, let's stop this teaspoon dance and get down to business. Lily, do you want to talk about what happened? How you feel? What you'd like to impale James with? How this tragedy may affect your colour scheme? Anything?" She inquired with a corporate manner.  
  
Lily made eye contact for the first time this morning and looked up at Chloe with a contemplative expression. "No, I don't want to talk about. I feel that our even-numbered destiny weaver doesn't excel in reflective discussions. Perhaps we could find something to adequately distract me from the crippling rage I feel threatening to detonate. Any takers?"

* * *

Remember kids: For those who smoke; the funny noses are indeed flammable... Now, fire is funny, but a flaming clown is not funny. 


	23. Chapter 23

A/N:

I am the evilest of all evils! Shoot me now! I am writing this out of anger... because the people reviewing to 'A Different Approach' were complaining that the THREE CHAPTERS I UPLOADED **AT ONCE** were too short for them! After an absence of like 2 months and now a huge load of about 6 chapters THEY SHOULD STOP COMPLAINING! Therefore I have decided to please my Sarah and write my chapter of this, which will take me some time and ignore 'A different Approach' for at least a week! That'll show 'em!  
  
_(Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...bonjour! – Sarah)_

* * *

**Chapter 23**- _23 is my favorite number...and it's an evil odd number, how odd! _

Each of the girls sat and thought up ideas to distract Lily from her bubbling anger.  
  
"What about..." began Renee, "...no" she said, deciding she didn't want to feel Amanda's wrath for suggesting something stupid.  
  
"Well how about we dig into these sandwiches...?" suggest Chloe, looking nervously at Amanda and Lily in case that was not such a good idea.  
  
"That's a great idea!" said Amanda, and Chloe looked slightly surprised but grinned victoriously at Renee.  
  
"Yes, that's a very good idea" said Amanda and as Lily opened her mouth to speak, she added "I don't want to hear that you don't want to eat, Lily. Take a sandwich and move that mouth!" in an orderly voice.  
  
Lily shut her mouth and picked up a sandwich with disinterest as Renee and Chloe tucked into the sandwiches at a high speed and began to look through the red book and whisper with each other.  
  
"So, do you want to go to classes after lunch, Lils?" asked Amanda tenderly as Lily nibbled daintily at the edge of her sandwich.  
  
"I don't know, I'll see how I feel" she said quietly, not looking up at her friend.  
  
"You know you can't avoid him forever." she said quietly,  
  
"I thought I could trust him..." Lily began, before she muted herself with a ham and tomato sandwich.  
  
Knowing that Lily would talk when she was ready, Amanda made a soothing noise and turned her attention to her own sandwich.

xxx  
  
Sirius managed to drag James to class, bribing him with the promise that they'd go and search for Lily and her gang if they had not surfaced by lunch time. James begrudgingly followed him to History of Magic and plonked himself in the very back of the classroom to think over his options.  
  
He knew Lily was mad. He'd known Lily a long time and he'd seen her angry a lot and he knew when to give her space. But he'd never seen her that angry, never. He loved her with all of his heart, and he knew he'd stuffed up big time. But now he didn't know what he could do about it.  
  
The best way to get through a long and boring History of Magic class is to keep your mind on something else, so for James that lesson was the shortest History of Magic he'd ever sat through. And he still hadn't come up with any ideas to show Lily he wasn't the tool he was currently resembling.  
  
As he walked out the door, a very bedraggled Remus walked ahead of him, cutting him off at the door and forcing his way out before James. All of James' anger at himself boiled up and he was ready to aim it all at Remus when the boy turned around and looked at him with a sly smile.  
  
"I hear you stuffed up again, James; way to go!" he taunted, and then walked off quickly before James could retort.  
  
"Stupid werewolf!" muttered James angrily under his breath just as Sirius caught up with him.  
  
"Come on James, we have potions with the Slytherins now, cheer up! He laughed, grabbing onto his friends jumper with quick reflexes just before James turned to run off in the other direction.  
  
"I know you too well, buddy," laughed Sirius as he dragged James down towards the potions classroom.

xxx  
  
The girls were now resting in the shade, with the exception of Renee who stated that she would make the most of whatever weak sun she could find and was now lying a little bit away from the rest of the group with her legs in the slight sunlight.  
  
"You'll never tan in this light Renee, give up!" tutted Chloe who was munching on a peach, licking at its furry skin.  
  
Renee just gave her a look that said 'we'll just see about that' and lay back down.  
  
Lily gave a slight giggle at her friends antics and then looked back down at her nails as she filed them with a file she'd found in the manicure kit that Chloe had 'accio-ed' a little while before.  
  
"I can't believe it!" she whispered after a little while of silence, a tear slowly made it's way down her cheek. "I tried to do something nice and seductive for him and he goes and tells his friends I'm some easy slut who will sleep with him after everything we've been through!" she said, only a little bit louder.  
  
Chloe gasped and her furry peach fell from her mouth, Amanda just shook her head at her idiot friend and turned to Lily.  
  
"He called you an easy slut?" she asked tentatively, putting her hand on lily's knee.  
  
"No," she whimpered, with more tears falling down her cheeks. "But that's what his friends are going to think!"  
  
With that Renee sat up very abruptly and scoffed loudly. "Don't be a nincompoop, Lily!" she said, causing her to receive a stern look from the very unusually mature Amanda, which she chose to ignore. "Everyone in Gryffindor loves you Lily, and even if they were told that you'd 'done-the-dirty' with every guy in Slytherin they would still have the utmost level of respect for you. Especially those boys which that noodle-brain known as James calls his friends; they love you to death! The only people that love you more are our good selves and young James." She said, smiling at her own intelligence and lying back down in the sun.  
  
The group sat in silence, thinking over what Renee had just said and the fact that it had made complete sense and after a few minutes, Lily was the first one to speak.  
  
"You're right! You're all right!" she said, jumping up onto her feet and dusting herself down. "I have to talk to him about this and see what the hell was going through his mind when he said those stupid things!" she said with strong conviction. "Avoiding him wont help anyone!" then she thought for a few more minutes, while the rest of the girls stood up and waited for her next outburst.  
  
"Actually" she began, with an almost evil glint in her big green eyes, "I think that talking to him will just be too easy. He needs to pay! If he loves me like he says he does, then he will come to me and explain himself." She looked at her friends for reassurance and they all nodded fiercely.  
  
"And until then I will act like nothing is wrong. He is to think that apart from my slight anger this morning, his stupidity hasn't upset me in the slightest. I will ignore him completely and act as if I'm as happy as ever. That will cut him so deeply; he knows me too well so he'll know I'm putting it on, but it'll still be painful because he'll know I'm faking it just to hurt him." She said, looking determined not to cry she turned on her heel and headed back towards the school.

xxx  
  
Just before class began, Lily, Amanda, Renee and Chloe walked into the classroom with an air of confidence and sat down in the row behind James and his friends. Lily avoided James' gaze as he turned around and looked at her to see if she was okay. All signs of tears had gone from her face and she looked neat and composed. Inside her stomach was going crazy as she saw James and she just wanted to break down there and cry her eyes out. But she sat up straight and took the notes from the board, not looking at James once and always avoiding his eye when he turned to look at her.  
  
When they'd taken notes on strengthening solutions down from the board, they arose from their seats and paired up to start making a weak version of a strengthening solution. Amanda skipped over to be at Sirius' side and Renee and Chloe were already walking over to a bench to work together. Lily began to panic slightly as the whole class paired up around her; all excluding _him_. Usually she and James would work together, but that arrangement simply didn't suit her today. In utter desperation she looked around for Remus, but he was already getting his ingredients together with Severus Snape. She turned around to look for a partner and came face-to-face with James.  
  
"Hi Lily..." he stammered, looking down at the ground.

* * *

A/n:

wow! Having days off school is really good for writing! Lol, I should really be doing all the math homework I have due tomorrow but I thought I'd please Sarah by finishing this now! Wow! It's pretty long too, aren't you all so proud? Now I shall go and work on a chapter of A Difference Approach! Okay well have fun! I love y'all! xoxoxoxox

I fucked up the formatting on the first one, so this is the replaced and all together better version! Although it will take hours to get up so a lot of people will have read the confusing version already. Sigh. Damn my stupidity :( - Sarah


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 - Strawberry Window SHADE**

* * *

Lily gave a frustrated sniff and steeled herself, determined to handle this situation with grace.

"What do you want?" she asked sharply.

James jumped at the tone of her voice and began to stutter incoherently. Lily rolled her eyes and moved forwards to retrieve the pair's equipment for the lesson.

x

James barely looked up as he worked diligently with slightly shaking hands on the straightening solution. Lily sat with her arms crossed, glaring enviously at her friends who were giggling at nothing in particular as they worked.

Every now and then James would glance nervously at Lily, and immediately return to what he was doing upon seeing her scowl.

Lily could confidently say that this was the longest potions lesson she had ever had the misfortune to sit through. She didn't care that James was doing all the work, and neither did the professor it seemed.

However, she was impressed how her plan was working. James seemed to be sufficiently terrified, and Lily knew she was no where near breaking. She sighed impatiently and began to drum her fingers on the desk. It was this that made James snap.

"Lily, just say whatever the hell you have to say and stop acting like such a brat!" he seethed.

Lily was taken aback, but recovered quickly. "I have nothing to say to you, James. You are nothing to me."

James gritted his teeth. "Right, well at least get up and help me with this potion. I'm not going to do your work for you."

"Fine. But only because I want to get a good mark. I'd have no hope of that with you fumbling your way through it." Lily snarled.

"You'll have to be faster next time so you can pair with Remus and not get stuck with a git like me" growled James.

Lily nearly dropped the bottle of violet spinacles she was aggressively clutching. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It's obvious you like him. You never really liked me, I don't know why you bothered to lead me on." Muttered James dolefully.

"You really are out of your mind, James. Completely bonkers." Said Lily incredulously before walking up to the professor's desk.

James shot a dark look after her then continued to stir his potion sloppily.

"I have a headache, may I go up to the hospital wing?" Lily spat with perhaps a little too much malice; cursing the tears threatening to fall.

"Of course dear, you do look rather pale." Replied the teacher drowsily, not seeming to notice her tone.

xxx

Both Lily and James took on dreadfully foul tempers for the remainder of the week leading up to Christmas. This would often see them sitting alone around the castle, casting furiously jealous stares at anyone who so much as chuckled in their presence.

Even the gaggle of giggling girls who were rarely seen out of each other's sight seemed to have taken to solitude also. Such turmoil within their group did not make for happy campers these holidays.

Sirius however kept up a brave face; that, or he truly couldn't bother himself with the dramas of adolescent romance; but nonetheless, he was persistent in bringing the Christmas cheer to his friends.

For the first time in his experience, James found himself not overly looking forward to Christmas. Everything around him seemed to be strange; such anger and feelings of betrayal between himself and Lily, the hostility between himself and his old friend Moony; he even missed the jovial laughter of Lily's ditzy friends.

It was no comfort however that he would be returning home to his family for the Christmas break, as the social climate would remain the same. Sirius always stayed at James' house (as we may remind you is in very close proximity to the Evans household!) as to avoid the strange ceremonies of a Christmas at the Black Manor; Lily's parents were great friends of the sporadic twins Renee and Amanda's parents, so the girls stayed at Lily's over the holidays; as did Chloe when she could convince her muggle parents to allow her to do so.

He could of course make things easier for everyone involved if he just tried to talk to Lily again. After all, she was just Lily. But that unappeasable Potter pride never ceased to get in the way, so James instead strengthened his resolve and made a note to practice his glaring and pouting.

x

If Lily wasn't feeling so very self-involved, she may have spared a thought for her friends as she stormed about Gryffindor Tower barely communicating in more than grunts and heavy impatient sighs.

It was highly uncharacteristic for her sparkling sistren to be so down in the dumps; especially so close to the day when Santa made his great journey from the North Pole, as Renee and Chloe still so often gleefully remind each other.

Lily had come to the stage where she really didn't care anymore. She just wanted there to be peace…but she was determined she would NOT give into James and apologise ("for what!" she thought indignantly). Never. It was making her feel horrible, causing all of this sadness for her friends, but the stubborn streak within her had well and truly kicked in.

"James did the wrong thing, not me. If he wants to be on good terms with me, it's up to him to make the first move. I will not give in to him." Lily repeated to herself sternly when the urge to fall on her knees before James in a melodramatic bid for reconciliation overwhelmed her.

xxx

"James, we need to talk." Announced Sirius on the overcast Wednesday morning. He had just arrived at breakfast looking slightly unkempt, and grabbed James by his collar and pulled him up from the table without a second glance back at the quizzical looks on their friends faces.

James shot a longing look back at his apple muesli (While Lily cast a not-so-subtle look over her teacup from down the table at the debacle) as he was dragged out into the entrance hall by his gloriously handsome friend.

"You have to talk to Lily before Friday. We're all going to be spending Christmas together, and I won't have everyone put through the last week all over again. It has to end, and it's up to you to put a stop to it." Spat Sirius, clearly not beating around the bush.

James took a moment to survey his friend. Sirius looked very much on edge, and the unrelenting cheeriness had vanished from his demeanour.

"She's the one who started with all this animosity in the first place! The last thing _I_ want is a Christmas massacre." Said James defiantly, but failing to convince even himself.

Sirius gave a slight snarl and said "I'm not taking no for an answer, Potter. You are to fix this mess before Friday or else."

James cocked an eyebrow. Something wasn't quite right here… "Or else what?" He said with a smirk.

Sirius suddenly dropped his antagonistic edge, and adopted a slightly fearful expression. He leant in slightly closer to his friend, and said "Or else Amanda will hurt me! Grievously."

James fought back a laugh. "What! You're afraid of Amanda? Sirius Black, terrifying oppressor of snivelly potions nerds, is afraid of a 15 year old girl!"

Sirius shot quick looks around them to make sure no one overheard. "You have no idea what she can do, mate! You haven't seen her worked up. It's horrible." He said with a grimace.

James continued to smirk at his pussy-whipped friend. Sirius, growing impatient of the whole ordeal, sighed and said "Well, I don't care how you do it, but just do it. If you care about me at all, you won't let her hurt me!" And on that note, Siriusskulked upstairs to ready himself for the day ahead.

xxx

However dismissive James may have been during his conversation with Sirius, he had not taken lightly the importance of doing _something_. It was up to him to make the coming Christmas at least bearable for all involved. Not only would he have to be in the same street as Lily, but they'd have to attend the traditional Potter/Evans Christmas party.

xxx

The day's classes passed quickly enough; James barely listened to a word spoken. He was feeling strangely confident about talking to Lily later in the evening. He felt there had been enough silence between them and it was time to face the music. The thought struck him to write somewhat of a script, to help him in what to say, then decided that was going too far and settled for continuous rehearsals in his head.

x

Lily was sitting curled up on the window sill of Gryffindor Tower, staring blankly out into the grounds when James returned that afternoon. He had been delayed by a much younger, but no less strict professor McGonagall telling him off for not paying attention and consequently turning his ferret into a salt shaker instead of a milk jug.

Lily decidedly didn't notice James when he entered. She knew it was him of course, by the greeting emitted by Sirius. She rolled her eyes; those two were insufferable. Well, at least they were at the moment.

"See anything interesting?" Came a voice from behind Lily. She got over the shock quickly and remained facing the window.

"Depends how interesting you find grass and trees." Replied Lily, still not turning around.

James laughed and moved forward to join her on the window sill.

"Lily, this is stupid. You know I am endlessly sorry for what I did…and I'm not asking you to forgive me right now, nor am I asking you to…go back to how things were with us" He said in a very well practiced way. "But I _am_ asking that you put your problems with me aside. At least until after the holidays. This dispute is making everyone around us miserable."

Lily sighed. She found she was simply too tired, in more ways than one, to continue being angry. And she cared too much about her friends to see them unhappy any longer. "Alright. I think we can put it aside. At least for now." She said, and then turned to face James.

He was grinning in his stupid pompous way and Lily couldn't help but laugh. She sighed again, and felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders.

"You wouldn't care to take a walk with me would you? We could get a closer look at the grass and trees you seem to be so fond of." He said, with a slightly more serious expression on his very much relieved face.

Lily smiled. "I can't see why not."

xxx

The remaining days of term passed like a breeze for all of the group. They staggered into the great hall on Friday night, all very much ready for the break that would be starting the following day.

The attention spans of most students in the hall were at their shortest, so being quite understanding of this, Dumbledore kept the speeches to a minimum, and warmly invited the students to tuck in to their final dinner for the term.

There was not a trace of iciness between the group of friends as they dined on the ever-magnificent food produced by the house elves. Sirius, who was rivalling Renee and Chloe in the area of giggly-ness this evening, spent much of the night telling stupid jokes and gazing around happily, clearly excited that this wasn't going to be a morbid Christmas after all.

Several courses later, the noticeably more settledschool retreated from the hall and ambled up to their dormitories to pack for the long train ride the next day.

James, who was also feeling very excited, threw his belongings into his trunk haphazardly and slammed it shut. He'd only have to get it out again once he got home anyway, right? He gave Sirius one last grin and a wink before he leapt into bed; eager for the following day to arrive.

* * *

_Talk about writer's block from hell! This chapter has been in the works for 9-10 months, with only the stupid ending to finish, but I just couldn't do it! I finally got my act together and finished it though (obviously). I apologise if it is at all sub-standard..._

_I haven't been able to get a hold of Jadey in the last week or so! I do hope she hasn't died. I've grown very impatient so I've decided just to upload without her approval. Muahaha. I am pure evil._

_Some more bad news! I'm actually moving out and heading off to Sydney where I think I'vedecided not to connect the internet...Which will make further chapters a little more difficult to produce. I'm hoping Jade and I will work something out via snail mail if she's up for it, and there will be closure for our poor characters! (and readers!) But never fear, we are very devoted to our little tale! And I'm sure (or at least hoping)there will be no more absences as long as the last._

_Sorry for the inexcusable lateness guys, thanks for all your support!_

**Sarah 3**


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